Lincoln portrait on Peoria County Courthouse shines light on mental health
‘Abraham Blue’ also has an app where you can hear from Honest Abe himself.
PEORIA (25News Now) - The Peoria County Courthouse is now displaying a portrait of one of America’s most iconic leaders, while also addressing mental health.
‘Abraham Blue’ was first displayed by Big Picture Peoria in 2018, but it made a return. The fifty foot by thirty-three foot of Honest Abe commemorates the sixteenth president. It isn’t widely known, but Lincoln struggled with depression, and the portrait is meant to open a conversation.
Doug Leunig, the artist being the piece says the River City also served as an important steppingstone on Lincoln’s path to presidency. “Abraham Lincoln started his march to the White House here in Peoria. He gave a speech at the Peoria County Courthouse, not too far from where we have the portrait of him hanging. When he gave that speech in 1854 he actually started to denounce slavery.”
There’s also a mobile app that shares the same name as the piece, where you can hear tales from Lincoln himself.
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