In Lincoln Portrait, a narrator joins the orchestra to read quotations from Lincoln’s famous speeches and American songs that have been popular since Lincoln’s time. The music, speeches and descriptions of Lincoln himself combine to form a new kind of portrait that audiences have adored since its 1942 debut. Usually a star of screen or stage, narrators of various performances of this piece over the years include Maya Angelou, Neil Armstrong and Tom Hanks. Here’s a sneak peek of The Phoenix Symph

This portrait of Abraham Lincoln was taken in June 1860 by photographer Alexander Hesler in Springfield, Illinois, shortly after Lincoln secured the Republican presidential nomination. Hesler, a prominent Chicago photographer, captured several of the most enduring pre-presidency images of Lincoln. The photograph is celebrated for its sharp detail and thoughtful expression, which conveys Lincoln’s intellect and gravity at a pivotal moment in his political career. Lincoln himself remarked on Hesle