Décor & Art: Overview
The White House, constructed between 1792 and 1800, is the official residence of the President of the United States and a living museum of American history. The White House’s collection of fine and decorative arts includes historic objects associated with the White House and the Presidency and significant or representative works by a variety of American and European artists and craftsmen that are consistent with the historic character of the house. Since 1800 when the first work of art, the full-length portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, was acquired for the President's House, objects including paintings, sculpture, furniture, and china have been purchased by, or donated to, the White House for the enjoyment of the First Families and their guests in this ever-changing historic structure. The public also is welcomed into the public rooms to learn about the White House - its history, occupants, and collection.
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Portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, 1797. Learn more.
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Portrait of John Adams by John Trumbull, c. 1792-93. Learn more.
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Portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale, 1800. Learn more.
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Portrait of James Madison by John Vanderlyn, 1816. Learn more.
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Portrait of James Monroe by Samuel Morse, c. 1819. Learn more.
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Portrait of John Quincy Adams by Gilbert Stuart, 1818. Learn more.
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Portrait of Andrew Jackson by Ralph E.W. Earl, c. 1835. Learn more.
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Portrait of Martin Van Buren by Francis Alexander, ~1830-40. Learn more.
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Portrait of William Harrison by James R. Lambdin, 1835. Learn more.
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Portrait of John Tyler by George P. A. Healy, 1859. Learn more.
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Portrait of James Polk by George P. A. Healy, 1858. Learn more.
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Portrait of Zachary Taylor by Joseph Henry Bush, 1848. Learn more.
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Portrait of Millard Fillmore by George P.A. Healy, 1957. Learn more.
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Portrait of Franklin Pierce by George P.A. Healy, 1858. Learn more.
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Portrait of James Buchanan by William Merritt Chase, 1902. Learn more.
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Portrait of Abraham Lincoln by George P.A. Healy, 1869. Learn more.
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Portrait of Andrew Johnson by Eliphalet Andrews, 1880. Learn more.
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Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant by unknown, late 1800s. Learn more.
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Portrait of Rutherford B. Hayes by Daniel Huntington, 1884. Learn more.
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Portrait of James Garfield by Calvin Curtis, 1881. Learn more.
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Portrait of Chester Arthur by Daniel Huntington, 1885. Learn more.
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Portrait of Grover Cleveland by Eastman Johnson, 1891. Learn more.
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Portrait of Benjamin Harrison by Eastman Johnson, 1895. Learn more.
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Portrait of William McKinley by Harriet Murphy, 1902. Learn more.
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Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt by John Singer Sargent, 1903. Learn more.
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Portrait of William Howard Taft by Anders Zorn, 1911. Learn more.
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Portrait of Woodrow Wilson by S. Seymour Thomas, 1913. Learn more.
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Portrait of Warren G. Harding by Edmund Hodgson Smart, 1923. Learn more.
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Portrait of Calvin Coolidge by Charles Hopkinson, 1921. Learn more.
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Portrait of Herbert Hoover by Elmer Wesley Greene, 1956. Learn more.
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Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt by Frank Salisbury, 1947. Learn more.
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Portrait of Harry S. Truman by Martha Greta Kempton, 1947. Learn more.
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Portrait of Dwight Eisenhower by J. Anthony Wills, 1967. Learn more.
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Portrait of John F. Kennedy by Aaron Shikler, 1970. Learn more.
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Portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson by Elizabeth Shoumatoff, 1968. Learn more.
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Portrait of Richard Nixon by James Anthony Wills, 1984. Learn more.
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Portrait of Gerald Ford by Everett Raymond Kinstler, 1977. Learn more.
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Portrait of Jimmy Carter by Herbert Abrams, 1982. Learn more.
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Portrait of Ronald Reagan by Everett Raymond Kinstler, 1991. Learn more.
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Portrait of George H. W. Bush by Herbert E. Abrams, 1994. Learn more.
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Portrait of William Clinton by Simmi Knox, 2001. Learn more.
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Portrait of George W. Bush by John Howard Sanden, 2012. Learn more.
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Portrait of Martha Washington by Eliphalet F. Andrews, 1878. Learn more.
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Portrait of Abigail Adams from the WHHA. Learn more.
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Portrait of Martha Jefferson from the WHHA. Learn more.
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Portrait of Dolley Madison by Gilbert Stuart, 1804. Learn more.
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Portrait of Elizabeth Monroe from the WHHA WH Collection. Learn more.
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Portrait of Louisa Johnson Adams by Gilbert Stuart, 1821-26. Learn more.
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Portrait of Rachel Jackson from the WHHA WH Collection. Learn more.
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Portrait of Angelica Singleton Van Buren by Henry Inman, 1842.
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Portrait of Anna Harrison coming soon. Learn more.
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Portrait of Letitia Tyler coming soon. Learn more.
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Portrait of Julia Gardiner Tyler from the WHHA WH Collection. Learn more.
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Portrait of Sarah Polk coming soon. Learn more.
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Portrait of Margaret Taylor from the Library of Congress. Learn more.
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Portrait of Abigail Fillmore from the WHHA WH Collection. Learn more.
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Portrait of Jane Pierce from the Library of Congress. Learn more.
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Portrait of Harriet Lane from the Library of Congress. Learn more.
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Portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln by Katherine Helm, 1925. Learn more.
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Portrait of Eliza Johnson from the Library of Congress. Learn more.
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Portrait of Julia Grant from the Library of Congress. Learn more.
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Portrait of Lucy Hayes from the WHHA. Learn more.
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Portrait of Lucretia Garfield from the WHHA. Learn more.
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Portrait of Ellen Arthur from the Library of Congress. Learn more.
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Portrait of Frances Cleveland from the WHHA, Library of Congress. Learn more.
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Portrait of Caroline Harrison from the WHHA. Learn more.
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Portrait of Ida McKinley from the WHHA WH Collection. Learn more.
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Portrait of Edith Roosevelt from the WHHA. Learn more.
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Portrait of Helen Taft by Bror Kronstrand, 1910. Learn more.
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Portrait of Ellen Wilson from the WHHA WH Collection. Learn more.
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Portrait of Edith Wilson from the WHHA WH Collection. Learn more.
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Portrait of Florence Harding from the WHHA WH Collection. Learn more.
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Portrait of Grace Coolidge by Howard Christy, 1924. Learn more.
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Portrait of Lou Hoover by Richard Brown, P. de Laszlo, 1950. Learn more.
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Portrait of Anna Roosevelt by Douglas Chandor, 1949. Learn more.
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Portrait of Elizabeth Truman from the WHHA. Learn more.
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Portrait of Mamie Eisenhower by Thomas Stephens, 1959. Learn more.
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Portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy by Aaron Shikler, 1970. Learn more.
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Portrait of Claudia Johnson by Elizabeth Shoumatoff, 1968. Learn more.
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Portrait of Patricia Nixon by Henriette Wyeth, 1978. Learn more.
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Portrait of Elizabeth Ford by Felix de Cossio, 1977. Learn more.
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Portrait of Rosalynn Carter by George Augusta, 1984. Learn more.
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Portrait of Nancy Reagan by Aaron Shikler, 1987. Learn more.
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Portrait of Barbara Bush by Chas Fagan, 2005. Learn more.
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Portrait of Hillary Clinton by Simmie Knox, 2003. Learn more.
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Portrait of Laura Welch Bush by John Howard Sanden, 2012. Learn more.
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How Portraits of US Presidents and First Ladies Are Chosen
The process of selecting a portrait or an artist to paint a portrait for the White House has evolved over the years. During the nineteenth century, presidential portraits were accepted for the Executive Mansion by the congressional committees on the library. It was a rather informal process. No attempt was made to secure a likeness while the president was in office or, for that matter, immediately after his departure. No attempt was made to acquire life portraits or paintings of high quality. The only requirement appeared to be that the portrait looked like the president. By the latter part of the nineteenth century, outgoing presidents were informed by the commissioner of public buildings and grounds of appropriated funds available for their portraits by artists of their choosing. If a president died before an official portrait was painted, often the family chose a likeness for the White House collection. With the exception of the large painting of Martha Dandridge Washington by Eliphalet Andrews (1878), which was executed originally on speculation, no public funds were provided for portraits of first ladies. Likenesses of the first ladies were, for the most part, not actively pursued during the nineteenth century. When made available, they were accepted as gifts; the first of these was of Julia Gardiner Tyler, which she herself brought to the White House in the time of President Andrew Johnson.
Since 1967, the White House Historical Association has taken an active role in acquiring and donating portraits of recent presidents and first ladies. The artists are selected and the completed portraits approved by the subjects before formal acquisition into the collection. With the formation of White House advisory committees—the Fine Arts Committee in 1961 and later the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, permanently established by Executive Order in 1964—it has been a goal to acquire contemporary or historic portraits of presidents and first ladies painted from life, either to represent those not in the collection or to replace earlier likenesses judged less than successful.
