Abraham lincoln life mask image

Left: Volk mask and hands of 1860; right: Mills mask of 1865 © Abraham Lincoln Online

Abraham Lincoln Life Masks One of the myths surrounding Lincoln is that a death mask was made after his assassination. The life mask reproduces Lincoln's beardless face as it appeared during his first presidential campaign. In fact, Lincoln had two life masks done, five years apart. The first was produced by Leonard Volk in Chicago, Illinois, in April 1860. Clark Mills completed the second in February 1865 in Washington, D.C. The photo shows mask copies and hand casts while on temporary display in Springfield, Illinois.

Leonard Volk Recalls the First Mask

In 1881, sculptor Leonard Volk explained how he made the first Lincoln mask.

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He met Lincoln in 1858 during Lincoln's campaign for the U.S. Senate, and invited him to sit for a bust. Lincoln agreed, but it took Volk's insistance two years later before Lincoln came to his studio. By this time it was the spring of 1860, shortly before Lincoln received the Republican nomination for president.

Volk said, "My studio was in the fifth s