Final Farewell To Lincoln Painting Planned In Madison  

MADISON, NJ — A piece of Madison history is leaving the borough for the next few years, and the borough is hosting a farewell open house to commemorate the painting.

The five-year loan of Abraham Lincoln's life-size portrait, which proudly hangs on the wall in the Hartley Dodge Memorial Council Chambers, will begin later this month.

Hartley Dodge Foundation Trustee Anne MacCowatt announced at the Jan. 9 council meeting that the large painting will soon have a new temporary home, as the foundation has agreed to loan the work of art to the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery.

Members of the public are invited to view this magnificent portrait before it departs Madison during a "Farewell to Lincoln" open house on Friday, Jan. 20 from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.

The public will be able to see this nine-foot-tall oil on canvas painting, which is only one of three known life-size paintings of the 16th President. Photographs in front of the portrait will be permitted, but no flash photography will be allowed.

There will also be light refreshments available for all attendees.

Members of the Hartley Dodge Foundation Trustees will be on hand to answer questions about the painting, which was purchased by Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge in the 1930s.

While the painting is on loan, a high-quality reproduction will be used until the original is returned to the borough.

The portrait loan, made possible by the Hartley Dodge Foundation and made possible by the citizens of Madison will be returned to Madison in December 2027, where it will remain for at least two years.

The Lincoln painting will hang in the Gallery of Presidents, which is considered the hallmark of the National Portrait Gallery. "It has portraits of every president and most of the first ladies as well," MacCowatt said.

"We look forward to seeing it proudly displayed at the Smithsonian, but also look forward to its return so that future governing bodies, residents, and visitors to this historic Borough Hall can enjoy it as well," Mayor Bob Conley said.