F.B. Carpenter

Born in Homer, New York, in 1830, Francis Bicknell Carpenter was a successful portrait painter. He was a pupil of Sandford Thayer in Syracuse, New York, and his early work showed such promise that he became a member of the National Academy in 1852. During a highly successful career, Carpenter was asked to portray many of America's greatest figures, including James Russell and Abraham Lincoln. Many of these portraits, including a depiction of the Lincoln family, were later popularised by engravers. Carpenter died in 1900, in New York.