This 1861 photograph of Mary Todd Lincoln by Mathew Brady hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.
"Mary Todd Lincoln was from a genteel family in Lexington, Kentucky. She was used to having fine things, and as first lady she understood the importance of keeping up appearances. Although she was perhaps the first to realize her husband's potential for high office, she also knew there was a crude, 'frontier aura' about him that she tried to temper for her own sake as well as his. 'They say Mrs. L. is awfully western, loud and unrefined,' quipped one Washington socialite. In part to counter such gossip, she refurbished the dowdy White House decor, hosted lavish bans, and spared no expense on her own wardrobe. This Mathew Brady photograph shows the new first lady in a festive ball gown in 1861, the first year of her husband's administration." -- National Portrait Gallery
This c. 1864 drawing of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln by Pierre Morand hangs in the Smtihsonian American Art Museum, in Washinton DC.
"'Marriage,' proclaimed Abraham Lincoln, 'is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory.' Mary Todd probably would have agreed. In her mind, he was perpetually preoccupied with the business of fighting a civil war and reuniting the country. They did, however, find time to spend together on carriage rides and on walks around the neighborhood of the White House, as seen in this sketch by Pierre Morand." -- Smithsonian American Art Museum
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