• George Washington
    Giuseppe Ceracchi
    busts
    likeness
    sculpture
    This marble bust of President George Washington is by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi. Ceracchi sculpted many notable Americans, including Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. This bust was modeled circa 1790-1794 and was carved circa 1815. The United States government acquired the bust along with busts of Amerigo Vespucci and Christopher Columbus during the James Monroe administration in 1817. Washington served as the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He served as president from April 30, 1789 until March 4, 1797. Bates Littlehales photographed the bust in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.
  • George Washington
    Giuseppe Ceracchi
    busts
    likeness
    sculpture
    This marble bust of President George Washington is by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi. Ceracchi sculpted many notable Americans, including Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. This bust was modeled circa 1790-1794 and was carved circa 1815. The United States government acquired the bust along with busts of Amerigo Vespucci and Christopher Columbus during the James Monroe administration in 1817. Washington served as the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He served as president from April 30, 1789 until March 4, 1797. Bates Littlehales photographed the bust in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.
  • Amerigo Vespucci
    Giuseppe Ceracchi
    sculpture
    busts
    likeness
    This marble bust of explorer Amerigo Vespucci is by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi. Ceracchi sculpted many notable Americans, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. This bust was acquired along with busts of Christopher Columbus and President Washington by the Monroe Administration in 1817.
  • Susan Brownell Anthony
    Adelaide Johnson
    busts
    suffrage
    sculpture
    likeness
    This bust of Susan B. Anthony was made by Adelaide Johnson. Anthony was one of the leading figures in the women's suffrage movement in the 1800s. On Election Day 1872 she persuaded an election inspector in Rochester, New York to allow her to vote, and was tried and convicted in 1873 for illegally voting. The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote, is also known as the Anthony Amendment. Johnson was a sculptor and active feminist.
  • John Bright
    John Warrington Wood
    sculpture
    busts
    likeness
    This bust of John Bright was done by John Warrington Wood. Bright was a British radical and member of the House of Commons for 30 years, a renowned orator, and a proponent of free trade policies. Wood was a British sculptor who lived in Europe for much of his career.
  • Nathan Hale
    Frederick William MacMonnies
    sculpture
    American Revolution
    military
    A small bronze statue of Continental Army solider Nathan Hale by sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies and from founder H. Rouard. This is a smaller version of the life-sized statue of Hale which is in New York City. The 21-year old Hale was captured by the British military while on an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City and executed in September 1776. His last words - "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" - solidified his status as an American hero. The statue shows Hale standing upright with palms facing outward and a rope or chain tied around his ankles. MacMonnies was an American sculptor and painter also known for portraits.
  • James Monroe
    Unknown
    sculpture
    This ivory sculpture of is President James Monroe. This sculpture was made by an unknown artist around the late 19th century. Prior to his presidency, Monroe served in the United States Senate for the Commonwealth of Virginia and as secretary of state and secretary of war during the administration of President James Madison. He was the fifth president of the United States, serving from 1817 to 1825.
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
    Unknown
    sculpture
    This marble bust depicts French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. President James Monroe brought this bust back from France after he served as the United States Minister to France there. Rousseau along with other French Enlightenment philosophers were significant influences on Monroe and many of the other Founding Fathers.
  • Voltaire
    Unknown
    sculpture
    This marble bust depicts French philosopher François-Marie Arouet, known by his pen name Voltaire. President James Monroe brought this bust back from France after he served as the United States Minister to France there. Voltaire along with other French Enlightenment philosophers were significant influences on Monroe and many of the other Founding Fathers.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Jeno Juszko
    portrait
    sculpture
    This bronze statue of President Abraham Lincoln was created by Hungarian American sculptor Jeno Juszko in 1925. Juszko was well-known for his portrait sculptures and busts, capturing lifelike representations of religious, political, and military leaders throughout his career. This sculpture was made at the American Art Foundry located in New York.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Gutzon Borglum
    likeness
    sculpture
    busts
    This bronze bust of President Abraham Lincoln was created by American sculptor Gutzon Borglum, formally known as John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum, in 1908. The large bust is installed atop a tall, white, stone pillar and has historically been displayed in a niche in the East Garden Room, visible to public visitors and guests as they enter the White House through the East Wing. Borglum was also famous for his work on Stone Mountain and Mount Rushmore.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Charles H. Humphriss
    portrait
    sculpture
    This bronze bas-relief of President Abraham Lincoln was created by sculptor Charles H. Humphriss in 1912. The bas-relief was created at Roman Bronze Works, a foundry located in New York. Humphriss was a sculptor known for his work with Native American subjects.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Charles Henry Niehaus
    portrait
    sculpture
    This bronze bust of President Abraham Lincoln was made by American sculptor Charles Henry Niehaus in the late 19th century. Niehaus was an eminent sculptor known for his representations of politicians including, among others, William McKinley, James Garfield, and Henry Clay. Several of his statues reside in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol and his bust of President Benjamin Harrison is also a part of the White House Collection.
  • Martin Van Buren
    Hiram Powers
    sculpture
    busts
    likeness
    This marble bust of President Martin Van Buren was created in 1840 by renowned sculptor Hiram Powers. Powers originally modeled the bust in 1836, before moving to Florence, Italy, where artisans created marble replicas of Powers' clay original. The bust remained in the Van Buren family until 1889, when one of Van Burens' grandsons bequeathed it to the White House. Powers depicts Van Buren in a toga, a Neoclassical tradition intended to connect American politicians to ancient Greek democracy. Van Buren served as president from March 4, 1837 until March 4, 1841. His earlier career included serving in the Senate, as the governor of New York, and as an ambassador.
  • Appeal to the Great Spirit
    Cyrus E. Dallin
    sculpture
    This small bronze statue is by sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin and was cast by the Gorham Manufacturing Company. The statue is of an American Indian, possibly a chief, sitting on horseback with his arms outstretched, palms up and head back, looking to the sky. Dallin was an American sculptor known for featuring American Indian subjects in his work, although he also created sculptures of Paul Revere and other notable figures.
  • Coming Through the Rye
    Frederic Remington
    sculpture
    This sculpture by Frederic Remington, often referred to as Frederic Sackrider Remington, was based on sketches Remington had previously done, including one for an article written by future president Theodore Roosevelt. The article was published in Century Magazine in October 1888 and entitled "Frontier Types." Remington's sketch for this piece was titled "Dissolute Cow-Punchers." Later, Remington created a similar sketch for Harper's Weekly in December 1889, titled "Cow-boys Coming to Town for Christmas." Remington was a prolific painter of the American West and he focused primarily on subjects such as cowboys, American Indians, and the military. He took up sculpture later in his career, and this statue, developed from the two previous sketches, was modeled in 1902 and finally cast in 1918.
  • Descending Night
    Adolph A. Weinman
    sculpture
    This is one figure in a pair of bronze statuettes by Adolph A. Weinman, also referred to as Adolph Alexander Weinman, with a moss green patina. "Descending Night" is the female of the pair, with curved wings and a bowed head paired with a physical pose indicative of an angel landing on the earth. The original, much larger, figures were featured in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915. Four bronze pairs of Descending Night and Rising Day were cast from the working models for the larger statues, and the pair present in the White House Collection are from an undetermined number of reductions cast by Roman Bronze works. Weinman worked in a neoclassical style, and is most well-known for designing the "Mercury dime" and the "Walking Liberty half-dollar" although he identified himself primarily as an architectural sculptor.
  • Rising Day
    Adolph A. Weinman
    sculpture
    This is one figure in a pair of bronze statuettes by Adolph A. Weinman, often referred to as Adolph Alexander Weinman, with a moss green patina. "Rising Day" is the male of the pair, his arms and wings perfectly aligned and perpendicular to his body. His head faces up and his feet are lifted as if preparing to leap from the ground. The original, much larger, figures were featured in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915. Four bronze pairs of Descending Night and Rising Day were cast from the working models for the larger statues, and the pair present in the White House Collection are from an undetermined number of reductions cast by Roman Bronze works. Weinman worked in a neoclassical style, and is most well-known for designing the "Mercury dime" and the "Walking Liberty half-dollar" although he identified himself primarily as an architectural sculptor.
  • Louis Kossuth
    Gyula Julius Bezeredi
    sculpture
    likeness
    Head of State
    This statuette of Lajos Kossuth (also known as Louis Kossuth) was done by Gyula Julius Bezeredi. Kossuth was a Hungarian freedom fighter and revolutionary. During the revolution of 1848-49, he was the Governor-President of Hungary and was lauded in the United States as the father of Hungarian democracy. Bezeredi was a Hungarian sculptor who also created a statue of George Washington that sits in a park in Budapest. The White House has a small scale version of this statue of Washington in its collection. Both statues are made of bronze plaster and were presented to the White House in 1923 as a gift of Americans of Hungarian Origin.
  • Timmy (Tiny Tim)
    Laura Gardin Fraser
    pets
    sculpture
    This bronze figurine by Laura Gardin Fraser, sometimes referred to as Laura Fraser, is of one of President and Mrs. Coolidge's many pets, Timmy (Tiny Tim). Fraser was an American sculptor but also successfully designed artwork for coins. She was married to sculptor James Earle Fraser.
  • Paolo Romano (Jennewein)
    Carl Paul Jennewein
    busts
    sculpture
    likeness
    This terra-cotta bust was made by Carl Paul Jennewein, a German-born American sculptor. He is known for the Western Civilization pediment sculpture at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and other architectural sculptures across the country. The likeness is of Jennewein's infant son, Paul, looking downwards.
  • Gardener
    Sylvia Shaw Judson Haskins
    sculpture
    This statuette was created by Sylvia Shaw Judson (also known as Sylvia Shaw Judson Haskens after her second marriage) in 1929 and is among one of her early pieces. Judson created the smooth figure using one of her children as the model. The figure wears a coat and hat and is holding a potted plant up prior to planting it. Judson studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Academie de la Grande Chaumire in Paris.
  • Fortunata
    Andrew O'Connor
    sculpture
    busts
    This bust was created by Andrew O'Connor Jr., an award-winning sculptor who had annual exhibits at the Paris Salon. The white marble figure portrayed is of an unknown French saint, her eyes cast downward. The bust was presented to the White House by O'Connor in 1923.
  • Benjamin Franklin
    National Porcelain Factory of Sèvres
    sculpture
    busts
    likeness
    American Revolution
    This bust of Benjamin Franklin is by the National Porcelain Factory of Sèvres after the work of sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon. Franklin was a well-known author, inventor and philosopher who was also one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He also served as the representative of the United States in France during the Revolutionary War. Houdon was renowned for his busts of famous politicians of the time. This bust is made of unglazed porcelain. The factory was established in 1738 and became the royal factory in 1759. It remains closely tied to the French state today and is run by the Ministry of Culture.
  • Our Vanishing Wildlife
    Alexander Pope
    sculpture
    This small bronze sculpture is by Alexander Pope and was cast by the Gorham Manufacturing Company. The statue is of a large buffalo fighting off three wolves that are attacking from all sides. Pope was a painter and sculptor mostly known for carvings and pieces about wildlife.