overall on mount: 72 in x 35 in x 12 in; 182.88 cm x 88.9 cm x 30.48 cm
Object Name:
Abraham Lincoln's office suit
suit
Description:
Abraham Lincoln wore this black broadcloth coat, vest, and trousers, as his office suit during his presidency. The shirt and tie are reproductions.
Lincoln’s office suit was used in a preliminary study for a posthumous portrait by Boston artist William Morris Hunt. In May 1865 Mary Lincoln sent Thomas Pendel, the White House doorkeeper, to deliver the suit. Pendel, being about the same size as Lincoln, posed in the clothing for the artist. Hunt kept the suit, and in 1894 his widow donated the clothing to the Smithsonian.