iCare Blog

Eye and Vision Condition Education from Dr’s Doug & Lisa Cook

iCare Blog header image 2

Lincoln’s Eye Position

February 1st, 2009 · 6 Comments · Ocular Disease, Vision Conditions

If one surveys the available portraits seen on the internet of Abraham Lincoln, a few will show an eye turn.

lincoln1z

This type of strabismus is called a left intermittent hypertropia.  There is a deviation of the left eye upward.

Most images show Lincoln’s eyes pointing straight which suggest the problem was not constant.

The image above is probably amongst the most well known of Lincoln portraits and also one which shows the problem.  His left eye is deviating upward slightly revealing more of the white part of his eye (the sclera) than in his right eye which is looking into the camera.

Another image illustrates the problem – perhaps more so.

lincoln2z

Most other portraits of Lincoln show a head tilt to the right which could be a compensation for the relative weakness of an extraocular muscle producing the deviation.

Finally, what if one applied colorizing technology to Lincoln’s portrait?  You may come up with this result.  Coloring of an image taken by Alexander Gardner on February 5, 1865 and colorized by James Nance for the Abraham Lincoln Art Gallery.

lincolncolor

His head tilts to his right slightly.  What impact does this image bring to you by adding color?

Tags: ·

6 Comments so far ↓

  • RickNo Gravatar

    The colorized photo makes the photos look even more realistic, showing that he indeed was a real person who once walked this earth. The colors used are very natural looking.

  • JNo Gravatar

    Rick,
    your comment baffles & intrigues me…

  • INo Gravatar

    I’m not sure why he’d want to tilt his head to the right to make the left hypertropia worse. Seems like when he leans his head on his left hand in the other picture above, he’d be more comfortable. HaHa…That crazy Abe!

  • Robot EyesNo Gravatar

    The reason his left eye seems to look up is simply this… his face goes left, and his head tilts right.
    I believe his eyes would be more impacted by the position of his head (they’re attached to the brain) than of his face position and thus his eyes tilt with his head.
    Look at the ears too. tilted

  • Dr Doug CookNo Gravatar

    I’m not sure if your first sentence is fully comprehended. Other’s confirm Lincoln’s hypertropia.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9083959

  • INo Gravatar

    Interesting article. Makes more sense for the right head tilt if he had LSO paresis. Very cool stuff! I wonder how many other historical world figures can be seen with subtle disorders like this?

Leave a Comment

*