Ever wonder what Abe and George looked like when they smiled?
The Presidents Smiled on President's Day
Cooper had a special exhibit of his studies and paintings illustrating what Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln might have looked like when they smiled. The exhibit took place at Moss & Moss Antiques et Cetera, in Mill Valley in February 14-21, 2013.
There are no known paintings or photographs of these two great men flashing their pearly whites.
Of course, we all know that Washington had false teeth. We were told in school that his false teeth were made of wood. Not so (see below).
And what about Honest Abe? Cooper has done his homework and even checked with the Library of Congress to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Only one word was used by Moss & Moss co-owner, Marjorie Clark-Moss, to describe Cooper’s artistic talents when she first saw the presidential portraits, “Wow.”
There are no known paintings or photographs of these two great men flashing their pearly whites.
Of course, we all know that Washington had false teeth. We were told in school that his false teeth were made of wood. Not so (see below).
And what about Honest Abe? Cooper has done his homework and even checked with the Library of Congress to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Only one word was used by Moss & Moss co-owner, Marjorie Clark-Moss, to describe Cooper’s artistic talents when she first saw the presidential portraits, “Wow.”
George Washington
We were all fed the same line of malarky in school "George Washington had wooden teeth." Well, thanks to the Internet and historians the truth is finally coming out --- he wore false teeth fashioned with real human teeth. And all those portraits painted by Gilbert Stuart? Apparently he had George stuff his mouth with gauze or some other material to fill out his lips. Look at the picture at the left and tell us that is a natural pose.
But what did George, the Father of our Country, look like when he was just hanging out at Mount Vernon?
But what did George, the Father of our Country, look like when he was just hanging out at Mount Vernon?
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But what did George Washington, the Father of our Country, look like when he was just hanging out at Mount Vernon with Martha?
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or perhaps he was a little more animated...
Did ABRAHAM LINCOLN ever smile?
At the left is the only known painting of Abraham Lincoln painted during his lifetime showing him smiling. According to the SIUE website the painting hangs in the "front foyer of Lovejoy Library on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus." "The oil on canvas painting, 50” by 40”, was created by Alban J. Conant in 1860, soon after Lincoln’s nomination as the Republican party candidate for president. "
But what of Lincoln's dental health? I contacted the Librarry of Congress and they dug up this little tidbit.
Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Mary Speed1, September 27, 1841
"Do you remember my going to the city while I was in Kentucky, to have a tooth extracted, and making a failure of it? Well, that same old tooth got to paining me so much that about a week since I had it torn out, bringing with it a bit of the jawbone; the consequence of which is that my mouth is now so sore that I can neither talk nor eat-- I am litterally "subsisting on savoury remembrances" -- that is, being unable to eat, I am living upon the remembrance of the delicious dishes of peaches and cream we used to have at your house--"
But what of Lincoln's dental health? I contacted the Librarry of Congress and they dug up this little tidbit.
Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Mary Speed1, September 27, 1841
"Do you remember my going to the city while I was in Kentucky, to have a tooth extracted, and making a failure of it? Well, that same old tooth got to paining me so much that about a week since I had it torn out, bringing with it a bit of the jawbone; the consequence of which is that my mouth is now so sore that I can neither talk nor eat-- I am litterally "subsisting on savoury remembrances" -- that is, being unable to eat, I am living upon the remembrance of the delicious dishes of peaches and cream we used to have at your house--"
The tooth and nothing but the tooth
So Abe had a least one tooth and "a bit of the jawbone" missing from his head when he was sworn in as perhaps our greatest president. Might explain the crooked, misaligned jaw illustrated in the mirrored images below.
So Abe had a least one tooth and "a bit of the jawbone" missing from his head when he was sworn in as perhaps our greatest president. Might explain the crooked, misaligned jaw illustrated in the mirrored images below.
Still begs the question of what he looked like when he smiled?
OTHER OUTSTANDING PRESIDENTIAL DENTAL HISTORY
Teddy Roosevelt
Perhaps the greatest Presidential smile in the history of the office. He was the first to show his magnificent dental display to the mass media of his time.
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Woodrow Wilson
Would this man had been elected if Americans had seen his less then Presidential smile? If he and Teddy Roosevelt had had a "GRIN-OFF" history would have been very different.
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