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Painting of Lincoln's Office

Painting of Lincoln's Office

A recreation of President Lincoln's office in the 2011 painting The Visit: A War Worker Calls for a Favor, Late 1862. Artist Peter Waddell meticulously researched the details using period illustrations and written documents as references. From the mass of details in Waddell’s painting comes one mystery—the desk (upper right) in front of the doorway. This door, often spoken of, gave access to a corridor the president ordered cut through the adjacent room to allow him to pass unseen to the family quarters. Although graphic documentation all agrees on this location, one wonders how Lincoln accessed his corridor with the desk so placed.

Credit
White House Historical Association