This miniature watercolor on ivory portrait of William Thornton was created by Robert Field circa 1800. Dr. William Thornton was born in the British West Indies in 1759 and gained U.S. citizenship in 1787. Thornton moved to Washington, D.C. after President George Washington chose his design for the U.S. Capitol building and appointed him a city commissioner. Considered the "first architect of the Capitol," Thornton held the role of head of the Patent Office from 1802 until his death in 1828. William Thornton and the creator, Robert Field, were acquaintances. This portrait is a part of the White House Collection.

This composite features pieces from the White House Collection. This image was featured in the exhibition entitled "Slavery and Freedom in the White House Collection". It may only be used for press and publicity purposes related to the exhibit. All other uses must be approved by the White House Historical Association in writing.

This composite features pieces from the White House Collection. This image was featured in the exhibition entitled "Slavery and Freedom in the White House Collection". It may only be used for press and publicity purposes related to the exhibit. All other uses must be approved by the White House Historical Association in writing.

This official portrait of President Barack Obama was painted by Robert McCurdy in 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Obama served as a United States senator from Illinois. On January 20, 2009, he became the first African American president and served two terms from 2009 to 2017. Both portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were unveiled in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on September 7, 2022.

This official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama was painted by Sharon Sprung in 2018. A Chicago native, Obama earned degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Her husband, Barack Obama, served as president from January 20, 2009 until January 20, 2017. As first lady, Michelle Obama pursued initiatives focused on childhood obesity and healthy eating, support for service members and their families, and opportunity in education. Both portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were unveiled in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on September 7, 2022.

This portrait of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly was the frontispiece, or an illustration facing the title page of a book, for her memoir Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House, published ca. 1868 by G.W. Carleton & Co. Her memoir detailed her life when she was enslaved, her rise to prominence as a businesswoman and seamstress, and her friendship with First Lady Mary Lincoln. Her memoir provides ample insight into the Lincoln White House, her family life, and the brutalities she experienced under slavery.

This portrait photograph is of White House staff member Jeremiah "Jerry" Smith. Smith started working at the White House during the Ulysses S. Grant administration in the late 1860s, and served as butler, cook, doorman, and footman until his retirement some 35 years later. Shortly before dying at age 69 in 1904, Smith was visited at his home by President Theodore Roosevelt.

This black and white photograph of designer Sally Milgrim was taken circa 1920 - 1925 aboard a ship. Milgrim got her start in fashion by joining her husband’s suit-making business as a dressmaker in the 1910s. By the 1920s, her business proved to be so successful that she began creating custom designs for entertainers like Ethel Merman, Pearl White, and Mary Pickford. Milgrim’s line expanded to include eveningwear as well as ready-to-wear gowns and accessories. Milgrim’s attention to detail was apparent in her creations – she often incorporated embroidery, cross-stitch, ruffles, pleats, and embedded crystals. A high point in Milgrim’s career was when she was approached to design Eleanor Roosevelt’s inaugural gown for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 inauguration.

This photograph was taken by David Wiegold in the Red Room on November 29, 2021 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. For their first year in the White House, President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden chose the theme, "Gifts from the Heart." The theme was meant to honor the things we cherish and bring us together despite the obstacles posed by a pandemic, time, and distance. Decorations in the Red Room honored the "Gift of the Performing Arts" and featured musical instruments, ballet slippers, and a pair of cranberry trees with a decorative trumpet base. This photograph prominently features William Franklin Draper's 1962 portrait of President John F. Kennedy on the wall.

This photograph of Lyndon B. Johnson and his family at their home was taken on August 28, 1948, on the day of the Texas Senatorial Democratic primary runoff election. Johnson narrowly defeated Texas Governor Coke Stevenson in the contested primary, and went on to win the Senate seat on November 2, 1948. Pictured here from left to right: Lynda Bird Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, Luci Baines Johnson, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

This black-and-white portrait of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his family was taken by Yoichi R. Okamoto on November 30, 1963. Seen here from left-to-right: Lynda Bird Johnson, eldest daughter of President Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson; Luci Baines Johnson, the Johnsons' youngest daughter; President Johnson; and Mrs. Johnson. President Johnson was sworn in as president following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

This full-length, standing photographic portrait of First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley was taken by George Prince around 1901. Prior to her marriage, Ida Saxton worked as a teller in her father's bank. As first lady, she was limited in her ability as hostess due to fragile health, which included epilepsy. These duties largely fell to Second Lady Jennie Tuttle Hobart, wife of Garret Hobart, who served as McKinley's vice president during his first term. McKinley was president from March 4, 1897 until his death on September 14, 1901.

This photograph is of Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor's portrait. She was the youngest daughter of President Zachary Taylor. Betty served as White House hostess in place of her mother, Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor, who was reluctant to go into society and plagued by ill health during her time as the first lady. At the time of her father's presidency, Betty was formally known as Mary Elizabeth Taylor Bliss but was later known as Mary Elizabeth Taylor Dandridge after the death of her first husband and her subsequent remarriage.

This black-and-white photographic portrait is of Vice President Charles Curtis. Curtis served President Herbert Hoover as the 31st Vice President of the United States from 1929-1933. Born in Kansas to a white father and Native American mother, and raised by his maternal grandparents, Curtis was the first person of Native American descent as well as the first person of color to serve as vice president.

This portrait of Jane Irwin Harrison by an unknown artist was completed c. 1841–42. Jane Findlay Irwin Harrison served as the official White House hostess briefly in 1841, during father-in-law President William Henry Harrison’s administration. She had lived with her in-laws following the death of her husband, William Henry Harrison Jr., and accompanied the president-elect to Washington, D.C. There, she received glowing reviews for the two receptions that she hosted with the help of her aunt, Jane Irwin Findlay. Her time as de-facto first lady was cut short, however, when President Harrison died on April 4, 1841, after only a month in office. With flowers placed at each ear and a veil pulled back from her face, this portrait was probably made to celebrate Jane Harrison’s second marriage, to widower Lewis Whiteman, following her return to North Bend, Ohio. Just a few years later, she succumbed to tuberculosis at age 42.

This is a portrait of First Lady Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison, dressed in mourning was painted by an unknown artist, ca. 1820. Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison was married to President William Henry Harrison and was the grandmother of President Benjamin Harrison. Mrs. Harrison was 65 years old when her husband was elected president making her, at the time, the oldest woman to become first lady. When President Harrison was inaugurated in March of 1841, Mrs. Harrison remained in Ohio due to poor health. She had temporarily placed her widowed daughter-in-law Jane Irwin Harrison in charge of being the hostess. Mrs. Harrison did not recover in time to reside in the White House before President Harrison passed away a month after his inauguration.

This black-and-white photographic portrait of Margaret Woodrow Wilson was taken around October 1, 1912. Margaret Woodrow Wilson was the eldest of President Woodrow Wilson’s three daughters, born in Georgia on April 16, 1886. In 1913, the Wilsons moved into the White House, but Margaret’s mother and first lady, Ellen Axson Wilson, passed away the next year. Margaret stepped in as White House hostess until her father married Edith Bolling Galt in 1915. Later in life, Margaret Wilson made a spiritual journey to India and lived in an ashram until her death in 1944.

This black-and-white, photographic portrait of longtime White House staff member Col. William H. Crook was taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston around 1890. Col. Crook served at the White House from 1864-1915. He started as bodyguard and doorman, later advancing to the roles of executive clerk and disbursing officer of the White House. Col. Crook documented his experiences in his memoir, "Through Five Administrations," originally published in 1910.

This portrait of Vice President Dan Quayle and his family was taken on November 27, 1990. The vice president and his wife, Second Lady Marilyn T. Quayle, are pictured with their three children Tucker, Ben, and Corinne as well as two of the family's dogs. It is possible that the dog held by the Quayle's daughter, Corrine, is Barnaby, the family's Black Labrador Retriever.

This photograph of White House curator Lorraine Waxman Pearce was taken by Robert L. Knudsen on June 28, 1961, during the John F. Kennedy administration. The curator was on hand to accept the a noteworthy painting of a Hartford, Connecticut family. Donated by the E. and A. Silberman Galleries, this important acquisition was hung in the Lincoln Bedroom, enhancing its Victorian period decor. This painting by an unknown artist is a portrait of a family relaxing in their lounge or parlor, circa 1840-1850. Members of the family of five sit about, playing the piano, working on needlepoint, and playing with the family dog. In the back, a young African American girl serves the mother.

This official photograph of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. was taken in the Library of the White House on March 3, 2021 by White House photographer Adam Schultz. President Biden served as the senator from Delaware for 36 years as well as vice president to President Barack Obama from 2009-2017. President Biden was elected in 2020 and sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021.

This portrait photograph of First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was taken by White House photographer Cheriss May in 2021, during President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.’s first months in office. Dr. Biden previously served as second lady of the United States from 2009-2017, during the Barack Obama administration. A long time educator, Dr. Biden earned a Master of Education from West Chester University, a Master of Arts in english from Villanova University, and a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from the University of Delaware.

This photograph of holiday decorations on display in the Red Room was taken by Matthew D'Agostino on November 30, 2020 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. In the Red Room, handmade ornaments and felt-crafted scenes honored the service of America’s first responders and frontline workers. Here, decorative models of essential workplaces including a grocery store and a hospital are seen on display on the mantel in the Red Room beneath Henry Inman's 1842 portrait of Angelica Singleton Van Buren. The holiday theme for 2020 was “America the Beautiful,” which celebrated the natural wonders of the American landscape. Selected by First Lady Melania Trump, the White House decorations also paid tribute to the courage and resilience of frontline workers, members of the military, and other American heroes. In 2020, American frontline and essential workers faced unique challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This photograph is of a portrait of White House hostess Letitia Tyler Semple by Charles King. She temporarily served as White House hostess or first lady for a few months in 1844. During the Civil War she served as nurse in a Confederate hospital. Near the end of the war she opened a school, the Eclectic Institute, in Baltimore. This portrait is believed to have been painted by Charles King (possibly Charles Bird King) while Letitia Tyler Semple lived at the White House, posing on the South Portico as she looked over the South Grounds.

This photograph is of a portrait of Martha Jefferson Randolph by painter Thomas Sully. Martha Jefferson Randolph was the eldest child of Thomas Jefferson and Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. She received her education in Philadelphia and Paris and was praised for her intellect. In 1790, she married Thomas Mann Randolph, a Virginia politician. She supported her father's career and also served as White House hostess or first lady when she lived in the White House in 1802-03 and 1805-06. The original oil on canvas portrait by Sully was painted in 1836.