This portrait of Abraham Lincoln was created by George Peter Alexander Healy (sometimes known as G. P. A. Healy) in 1869, not long after Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865. Lincoln originally sat for Healy in 1864, and the artist depicted Lincoln in this pose in a painting entitled The Peacemakers, an 1868 work that showed Lincoln conferring with Union military leaders during the final days of the Civil War. After Lincoln's death, Healy realized that the painting made an impressive portrait of Lincoln alone and painted three replicas, one of which became part of the White House collection. Lincoln became president on March 4, 1861 and had served in the House of Representatives earlier in his life.