John H. Surratt, John Wilkes Booth, and David E. Herold
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
NPG.85.32
Tags
About this artwork
Abraham Lincoln’s assassination caused confusion, widespread panic, and anger in the North as well as foreboding in the South, as it anticipated a violent reaction if it turned out that John Wilkes Booth (1838–1865) had been acting on orders from the Confederacy. Wholesale roundups of suspected conspirators and sympathizers occurred in the weeks after the assassination. Union authorities identified the conspirators fairly quickly, however. It is evidence of the ongoing nature of the investigatio...
Art Historical Context
This 1865 wanted poster, produced by an unidentified artist, captures the raw urgency following Abraham Lincoln's assassination by featuring three key suspects: actor and assassin John Wilkes Booth at center, flanked by conspirators David E. Her (misspelled "Harold" here) and H. Surratt. As a broadside print from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, it served as a vital tool in the Union's frantic manhunt, reflecting the widespread panic, anger in the North, and in the South amid fears of Confederate involvement. The poster's historical significance lies in its snapshot of a pivo...