Lincoln's 200th Birthday

Lincoln The Railsplitter by Norman Rockwell

Of this work Norman Rockwell wrote, “I hope this painting might inspire the youth of this land to appreciate this man who believed so much in the value of education.”

“Lincoln the Railsplitter” depicts Abe as a young man during the time he pursued the occupation of surveyor in Sangamon County in central Illinois - a time documented in “The Prairie Years” by Carl Sandburg. (The book served as an inspiration to Rockwell as he created this work.) Lincoln prepared to be a surveyor as he would later prepare for his law career, by immersing himself in various text books. The painting depicts just such study, portraying the future president with an axe in one hand, and holding a text book with the other. A railsplitter’s tool is draped over Abe’s shoulder, and the painting also includes an image of a log cabin and a newly build split rail fence, with remnants of felled trees in close proximity.

Quote from The Butler Institute of American Art, who purchased Rockwell's original painting in 2006.