This black and white version of an 1899 watercolor portrait by Emily Drayton Taylor is of President William McKinley. The portrait was painted on ivory at the White House. Taylor also painted President McKinley's wife, First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley, that same year in the same medium.
This illustration shows a January 17, 1900 State Dinner hosted by President William McKinley and First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley in the White House Cross Hall. Dignitaries from Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Russia, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, Guatemala, Austria-Hungary, Switzerland, Denmark, Haiti, Korea, Belgium, China, Brazil, Japan, Costa Rica, Colombia, Spain, Nicaragua, France, Chile, Venezuela, Portugal, Turkey, the Argentine Republic, and the Dominican Republic were in attendance. The famous Tiffany glass screen, commissioned by Chester A. Arthur in 1882, that separated the Cross Hall from the Entrance Hall, is seen in the background.
This oil on canvas portrait of President William McKinley was done by Harriet A. S. Murphy. Prior to becoming president, McKinley served multiple terms in the House of Representatives and was governor of Ohio. McKinley served as president from March 4, 1897 until he was shot and died on September 14, 1901, six months into his second term. This portrait is first representation of artwork by a woman in the White House Collection.
Signing of the Peace Protocol Between Spain and the United States, August 12, 1898
Théobald Chartran
painting
Treaty Room
Spanish-American War
Second Floor
Cabinet
signing
This painting by Théobald Chartran was completed in 1899 and records the signing of the Peace Protocol between Spain and the United States on August 12, 1898, which officially ended the Spanish-American War. Standing at the far left, looking over the signing, is President William McKinley. Seated from left to right are Secretary of State William R. Day and, signing, French Ambassador to the United States Jules Cambon, who represented and acted on Spain's behalf. Standing behind the two men are, from left to right, First Assistant Secretary of State John Bassett Moore, Second Assistant Secretary Alvey A. Adee, Third Assistant Secretary Thomas W. Cridler, and First Secretary of the French Embassy Eugène Thiébaut. Photographs taken of the event show that more men were present in the room than depicted in the painting. The room where the signing took place was the Cabinet Room at the time and overlooks the South Lawn of the White House with the South Portico columns visible through the windows. Today the finished painting hangs in the Treaty Room of the White House. A preliminary sketch of the painting is also in the White House Collection. Chartran was a French painter and illustrator known for historical works.