A Forged Painting and A Forged Story to Go With It

Interesting bit of art forgery here, courtesy of the New York Times:













"For 32 years, a portrait of a serene Mary Todd Lincoln hung in the governor’s mansion in Springfield, Ill., signed by Francis Bicknell Carpenter, a celebrated painter who lived at the White House for six months in 1864.

"The story behind the picture was compelling: Mrs. Lincoln had Mr. Carpenter secretly paint her portrait as a surprise for the president, but he was assassinated before she had a chance to present it to him.

"Now it turns out that both the portrait and the touching tale accompanying it are false."

Here's the link.

John Cabell Breckinridge

This statue of Kentucky's Vice President and Presidential candidate John Cabell Breckinridge, who was a supporter of slavery,  stands at Main Street and Cheapside, not far from the location of Lexington's slave market.  In my column today on KyForward.com, I dicuss the history and legacy of Breckinridge, one of Kentucky's three Vice Presidents.

How Lexington Put Lexington On the Map

I wanted to share a link to my latest  column on KyForward.com!

We talk about the origins of the Thoroughbred breeding industry in Kentucky in the 19th Century, and about the great stallion Lexington, who put Lexington (the town) on the map.

Enjoy!

The Theft of Asteroid and Other Civil War Oddities

As we celebrate, if that's what we're doing, the sesquicentennial of the fighting of the United States Civil War, I have examined the war's impact on my own great great great grandfather, Capt. E. B. Treadway. I also wrote an article that discusses the Civil War's impact on Thoroughbred racing.

Enjoy!

The Civil War's Impact on Kentucky's Thoroughbred Industry

Honest Dick Tate: A Victorian Crime

Here's a link to my column on one of the great crimes of Kentucky history, when Kentucky state treasurer "Honest Dick" Tate got on a train with most of the state's money, and neither he nor the money was heard from again . . .

Honest Dick Tate: He Took the Money and Ran

A Little Family History

One of the things I'll do in this blog is share links to my columns on Kentucky history which appear on KyForward.com. My first link to a column is to one I wrote for this past Fourth of July, about my own great great grandfather.

Enjoy!

Capt. E. B. Treadway, Who Fought for the Constitution