A long-lost portrait of Abraham Lincoln by American realist Ernest Wells has reemerged after more than a century. The painting, which hung in President Theodore Roosevelt’s office throughout his term and served as a source of personal inspiration, was recently identified in the collection of the descendants of antique dealers Ann and Jack Rouchaud. The work’s provenance was confirmed via a letter from Roosevelt’s friend and Lincoln’s former bodyguard, Colonel William H. Crook, which remains affixed to the back of the canvas.
The rediscovery is a significant win for the upcoming Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota, where the portrait will be displayed on indefinite loan starting in July 2026. The painting’s history—passing from Roosevelt to Crook, then briefly to financier J.P. Morgan before disappearing into private hands—highlights the shifting values of museum collecting, as it was originally passed over by institutions for being based on a photograph rather than a live sitting. Its return to the public eye provides a tangible link to Roosevelt’s well-documented idolization of Lincoln.