Lincoln for the Defense
Lithograph, 1962
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
Norman Rockwell captures Lincoln the lawyer in the famous Duff Armstrong murder trial. Rockwell includes Armstrong, shackled and cowering in the darkness of the background. In contrast, Lincoln stands in white trousers and rolled-up shirt-sleeves, holding an almanac in his left hand, with his right hand clenched and forcefully pressed against a book on the table. Rockwell created the work as a story illustration for the February 10, 1962 edition of The Saturday Evening Post. The lithograph is in the Shrine’s Fine Art Collection. The original painting hangs in The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
