Artwork / 2026 / Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
2026
acrylic on archival board
14 x 11 inches
Painting celebrity portraits like this one was very specifically Not My Thing for twenty years. I only wanted to paint portraits of people I could meet myself, because I didn’t like the idea of using the fame of my subjects to get viewers to like my art. I made this choice before I even started my career, and it was reinforced when a celebrity commissioned me to paint his portrait in 2005.
This image of Lincoln is part of my own personal celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026, which also includes this pair of eagles. It’s a deviation from my rule about celebrity portraits, one that started in 2025 with paintings of Fannie Lou Hamer and James Baldwin.