• The Outgoing and Incoming Presidents Leaving the White House, at 10:30 AM, for the Capitol (back)
    Albert Berghaus
    drawings
    inaugurations
    This image is the back of the pencil sketch by Albert Berghaus depicting Inauguration Day 1877. Berghaus was a Reconstruction-era American illustrator who worked for Frank Leslie's Weekly. Berghaus' original works are extremely rare and few are in private collections. The back side of the sketch contains an inscription explaining the contents of the scene as well as a separate sketch of a police officer matching the front, where a line of police officers stands next to the open carriage. See image 8771 for the front side of the sketch.
  • The Outgoing and Ingoing Presidents Leaving the White House, at 10:30 AM, for the Capitol (front)
    Albert Berghaus
    inaugurations
    drawings
    North Portico
    North Drive
    transportation
    This pencil sketch by Albert Berghaus is of Inauguration Day 1877. Outgoing President Ulysses S. Grant and President-Elect Rutherford B. Hayes leave the White House for the ceremony at the Capitol. Berghaus was a Reconstruction-era American illustrator who worked for Frank Leslie's Weekly. Berghaus' original works are extremely rare and few are in private collections. This sketch appears to be preliminary, with details such as the detailed stonework over the entrance to the North Portico only partially completed, as though Berghaus intended to use it for a larger work or finish the sketch later. See image 8772 to see the reverse side sketch and inscription.
  • The President's Levee at the White House
    Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion
    inauguration
    East Room
    This engraving is of the inaugural reception of President Franklin Pierce at the White House in 1853. It was published in "Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion" on March 11, 1853, shortly after his inauguration. Pierce, whose son Benjamin had died just prior to the inauguration, decided to hold a reception in the East Room rather than the usual formal inaugural ball.
  • Lincoln's Second Inaugural, 1865
    Allyn Cox
    inauguration
    This mural depicting President Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address on March 4, 1865 was painted by artist Allyn Cox. The center scene in the mural shows President Lincoln on the steps of the East Portico of the just-completed United States Capitol. Seated behind Lincoln is Vice President Andrew Johnson and standing next to Johnson is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Salmon P. Chase. This historical image of the inauguration is buttressed by a painting of a Civil War-era soldier on the left, symbolizing sacrifice in the name of freedom and reunification, and an African American voter on the right, reinforcing the strength of the 15th Amendment and the right of African American men to vote. This mural resides in the Cox Corridors of the Capitol. Cox painted numerous murals throughout the Capitol and completed the "Frieze of American History" in the Capitol Rotunda that was originally started by Constantino Brumidi in 1878.
  • Inauguration of George Washington
    Johnson, Fry & Co.
    Inauguration
    This print of President George Washington taking the oath of office was published by Johnson, Fry and Co. Publishers in New York City in 1859. This drawing was based off of the painting completed by Alonzo Chappel. Washington served as the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The first president was in office from April 30, 1789 until March 4, 1797. The men surrounding President Washington include General Henry Knox, General Friedrich von Steuben, and future president John Adams.
  • The Republican Court in the Days of Lincoln
    Peter Frederick Rothermel
    East Room
    State Floor
    receptions
    inaugurations
    painting
    Cabinet
    This painting by Peter Frederick Rothermel depicts a fictitious formal reception in the East Room of the White House following President Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration on March 4, 1865. The painting features a number of historical figures: President Abraham Lincoln (standing to the right of the large chandelier that intersects the middle of the painting) with General Ulysses S. Grant to Lincoln's right, presenting his wife, Julia Dent Grant, to the president (in a light pink gown, shaking hands with Lincoln). First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln stands to Lincoln's left, holding a fan to the shoulder of General Winfield Scott. To the left of the chandelier, orator Edward Everett (who died in January 1865, before the scene portrayed this painting purportedly took place) is seated, and Secretary of State William H. Seward and General William Tecumseh Sherman are standing (Sherman stands between the two men, but toward the back). Rothermel was an American painter who is mostly known for his large historical paintings.