Strange Fates of Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln True Events
A Portable Museum by Susan Bercu
The Museum
“With Malice Toward None, With Charity for All” commemorates President Abraham Lincoln in this cardboard diorama replicating the White House and serving as a stage for the story. It is the cornerstone exhibit in "Strange Fates of Lincoln: A Portable Museum".
President Abraham Lincoln's White House
Edwin Booth Saves Robert Lincoln
President James Garfield Assassination
William McKinley Assassination
Sarah Bernhardt Saves Mary Lincoln
Mary Lincoln and Former Slave Elizabeth Keckley
Tad Lincoln's Toy Theater of Civil War
Handmade Book about Abraham Lincoln
"The Strange Fates of Lincoln" is not your typical history museum. First, there is the unusual point of view about the bizarre yet true events that surround Abraham Lincoln and his family. Then there is the unusual medium. The exhibits are tabletop dioramas that I’ve constructed using recycled cardboard—detailed with my drawings and paintings. The humble material of cardboard seems the appropriate base from which to build the stories about a man who transcended poverty to become an enduring American icon.
Before I conceived of a museum, I created a 64-page hand-made book. I needed a larger stage for the stories and images I collected soI built one diorama and then the next until there were seven exhibits. I am compelled to use meaningful content in my work and have an audience for it.
When my daughter Elizabeth observed, "It's a museum", that felt just right for I am at home in museums.
Museum Contents
About "Strange Fates of Lincoln"
Each diorama size: approximately 18 in. wide x 20 in. high x 18 in. deep
The structures of the museum dioramas and 3-D objects are built from recycled cardboard and painted with acrylic. The stories and art are referenced from historical sources. I scan, re-color and print most of my drawings and paintings. Newspaper clippings and letters are reproductions or redrawn. When I draw and paint from archival references, I gain an intimate knowledge of my subject. I felt sorrow while drawing the silver handled Derringer that was used to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. Look for my paintings of the guns used to shoot President James Garfield and President William McKinley.