Sculptor Daniel Chester French, stonework, Ernest C. Bairstow | Lincoln Memorial; interior view featuring Lincoln, 1922 | West Potomac Park, Washington, DC | Image and original data provided by ART on FILE, www.artonfile.com

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a brief, powerful speech at the dedication of the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He addressed the country’s civil war, reminding weary Americans of the values they were fighting for. Its closing words were: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” The Gettsyburg Address is now inscribed in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

A simple search for Abraham Lincoln in the Artstor Digital Library will result in hundreds of photographs, sculptures, murals, and political cartoons of the American President from collections as varied as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Carnegie Arts of the United States Collection, The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and George Eastman House. Search using the terms Lincoln and Gettysburg to see vibrant images by folk artists William H. Johnson and Malcah Zeldis.