Abraham Lincoln posed in the Washington, DC, gallery of photographer Alexander Gardner (1821-1882) on August 9, 1863. Lincoln had promised to be Gardner's first sitter in the new space and chose a Sunday for his visit to avoid curiosity-seekers. The photograph is placed within a wide, elaborate, foliate tinsel-painted border. The vivid colors and bold design resemble contemporaneous upholstery executed in Berlin wools, the rococo-revival style that was inspired by early English and French tapestry designs.

Lee Kogan, "Tinsel Painting with Photograph of Abraham Lincoln," FOILED: Tinsel Painting in America (New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2013), 95

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