• Theodore Roosevelt
    John Singer Sargent
    official portrait
    This portrait of Theodore Roosevelt was painted by renowned artist John Singer Sargent in 1903. Architect Charles McKim, who oversaw major renovations to the White House occurring at the time, invited Sargent to paint Roosevelt's portrait. Though the artist later complained that Roosevelt would agree to only short sittings, the president was very pleased with the end result. On February 19 he wrote in a letter to his son Kermit, noting that "This afternoon I had my last sitting with Mr. Sargent. I like his picture enormously." A former governor of New York, Roosevelt became president upon the assassination of William McKinley, on September 14, 1901 and served until March 4, 1909.
  • George Washington
    Gilbert Stuart
    official portrait
    This full-length portrait of George Washington was painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1797, the final year of his presidency. While other artists had depicted Washington as a military leader, Stuart became the first portraitist to paint an authoritative image of Washington as the country's first president. Washington holds a sword in his left hand, alluding to his past military service, but appears in civilian clothes, emphasizing the fact that he had resigned his commission as a military leader. A book entitled Constitution and Laws of the United States leans against the table leg. The portrait was installed in the White House in November 1800. During the War of 1812, First Lady Dolley Madison famously saved the portrait from near-certain demise. Before vacating the premises on August 24, 1814, Mrs. Madison ordered that official papers and the Washington portrait should be saved from British hands. The painting returned to the White House after it was rebuilt in 1817. 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.
  • William Howard Taft, Etching of Portrait
    Anders Zorn
    portrait
    This print is a portrait of President William Howard Taft by Anders Zorn. The original portrait was completed from sittings, possibly in the Blue Room. In 1911, when Zorn completed the portrait, he released the etching of the portrait for mass production.
  • George Washington
    Gilbert Stuart
    Portrait
    This oil on canvas portrait of President George Washington was painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1805, 6 years after the President’s death. This item was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Payson in memory of Pvt. Daniel Carroll Payson. 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.
  • George Washington Triumphantly Entering Boston
    Unknown
    Military
    American Revolution
    This painting depicts George Washington on horseback triumphantly entering Boston in 1776. The painting was completed in 1834 by an unknown artist. 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.
  • George Washington Accepts the Surrender of British General Cornwallis
    Jean Zuber et Cie
    Military
    American Revolution
    This painting depicts George Washington accepting the surrender of British General Charles Cornwallis in 1781 after the battle of Yorktown. This painting was produced by Jean Zuber et Cie. of Rixheim, France in 1850. Zuber also produced the iconic wallpaper adorning the walls of the Diplomatic Reception Room that was installed by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. The room is located on the Ground Floor of the Executive Mansion. 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.
  • George Washington
    Enoch Wood
    bust
    This basalt ware bust of President George Washington was completed by Enoch Wood in 1818. Wood established the pottery company Enoch Wood & Sons in Staffordshire, United Kingdom, and exported many items to the United States. This item was a gift to the White House Collection from Dr. and Mrs. A. Noe Horn. 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.
  • George Washington
    Gyula Julius Bezeredi
    statue
    This bronzed plaster statuette of President George Washington was created by Gyula Julius Bezeredi in 1923, and manufactured by Antal Mengsik. Bezeredi was a well-known Hungarian sculptor, who is best known for the larger version of this statuette that resides in a park in Budapest. This statuette, along with a statuette of Hungarian freedom fighter and revolutionary Lajos Kossuth (sometimes referred to as Louis), were presented to the White House in 1923 as a gift of Americans of Hungarian Origin. 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.
  • George Washington
    Unknown
    silhouette
    This cut paper silhouette on silk of President George Washington was created by an unknown artist in the early 19th century. This item was a gift to the White House by Mrs. Stanley M. Straus. 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.
  • George Washington
    Unknown
    bust
    This marble bust of President George Washington was created by an unknown artist in 1790, similar to a statue of Washington created by Jean-Antoine Houdon. This was a gift to the White House from Mrs. Albert Lasker. 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.
  • 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.
  • George Washington
    Giuseppe Ceracchi
    bust
    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.
  • George Washington
    Unknown
    statue
    This oil silhouette on glass of President George Washington was painted by an unknown artist in the early 19th century. This item was a gift to the White House by Mrs. Stanley M. Straus. 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.
  • George Washington
    Ernst Fischer
    Portrait
    This painting by Ernst Fischer portrays George Washington in his colonel's uniform of the Virginia Regiment in 1754. Fischer completed this painting in the mid-19th century and based it on a portrait painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1772. 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.
  • George Washington
    Jacques Reich
    Portrait
    This pencil on paper portrait of President George Washington was completed by Jacques Reich sometime during the late 19th or early 20th century. It was a gift to the White House Collection from Mr. and Mrs. Clement E. Conger. Reich was a Hungarian portrait etcher who came to the United States, and studied at the National Academy of Design in New York and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. 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.
  • George Washington
    National Porcelain Factory of Sèvres
    bust
    This unglazed porcelain bust of President George Washington was created by the National Porcelain Factory of Sevres in 1905 and was a gift to the White House from the French Republic. It is similar to a statue of Washington created by Jean-Antoine Houdon. 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.
  • George Washington
    Unknown
    statue
    This bronze statue of President George Washington was created by an unknown artist sometime between 1830 and 1850. This item was a gift to the White House by Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr. 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.
  • Martha Dandridge Custis Washington
    Unknown
    portrait
    This painting, from the late 19th century, is of Martha Washington, wife of President George Washington. During President Washington's administration (1789-1797), Mrs. Washington is said to have created an atmosphere of warm hospitality in the temporary capitals of New York and Philadelphia despite her dislike of formal affairs and society.
  • William Howard Taft
    Anders Zorn
    official portrait
    This portrait of William Howard Taft was painted by Swedish artist Anders Leonard Zorn in 1911, during Taft's third year in office. Taft sat for Zorn in the Blue Room, which Taft's predecessor Theodore Roosevelt had recently remodeled. Taft had been a judge and served in the Cabinet prior to his presidency, which began March 4, 1909 and ended March 4, 1913. He is the only president to subsequently serve on the Supreme Court after his presidency. Taft was Chief Justice from 1921 until 1930.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Augustus Saint-Gaudens
    portrait
    This bronze bust of Abraham Lincoln, who was president from March 4, 1861 until his assassination on April 15, 1865, was created in the late nineteenth century by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. After Lincoln's assassination, the accomplished sculptor became one of many artists commissioned to create memorial portraits of the President. This bust is a replica of the full-size standing statue that Saint-Gaudens sculpted for Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. Saint-Gaudens experimented with many stances and expressions before deciding to portray a pensive Lincoln. It was acquired for the White House Collection by the White House Historical Association in 1975.
  • Thomas Jefferson
    Unknown
    portrait
    This unglazed porcelain bust of Thomas Jefferson was created by the National Porcelain Factory of Sèvres in 1908. The bust is based on a well-known bust of Jefferson sculpted by French artist Jean Antoine Houdon in 1789. The author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson served as president from March 4, 1801 until March 4, 1809.
  • Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt
    Théobald Chartran
    portrait
    This portrait of First Lady Edith Carow Roosevelt was painted in 1902 by Théobald Chartran, a French artist who became one of the most fashionable portraitists of the early twentieth century. Mrs. Roosevelt, wife of President Theodore Roosevelt who served in office from September 14, 1901 until March 4, 1909, poses in the colonial garden, known today as the Rose Garden, which she established near the White House's new West Wing. Chartran repositioned the South Portico so it would appear in the portrait for aesthetic effect.
  • Abraham Lincoln
    G. P. A. Healy
    official portrait
    This portrait of Abraham Lincoln was created by George Peter Alexander Healy (sometimes known as G. P. A. Healy) in 1869, not long after Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865. Lincoln originally sat for Healy in 1864, and the artist depicted Lincoln in this pose in a painting entitled The Peacemakers, an 1868 work that showed Lincoln conferring with Union military leaders during the final days of the Civil War. After Lincoln's death, Healy realized that the painting made an impressive portrait of Lincoln alone and painted three replicas, one of which became part of the White House collection. Lincoln became president on March 4, 1861 and had served in the House of Representatives earlier in his life.
  • Lincoln, the Ever-Sympathetic
    Stephen Arnold Douglas Volk
    portrait
    This portrait of Abraham Lincoln, who was president from March 4, 1861 until his assassination on April 15, 1865, was painted by Stephen Arnold Douglas Volk in 1931. Volk's father, Leonard Volk, created a life mask of then presidential candidate Lincoln in 1860, and the younger Volk used the mask to create several posthumous portraits of Lincoln. The image later hung in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House.
  • Thomas Jefferson
    John Trumbull
    portrait
    This portrait of Thomas Jefferson was painted by John Trumbull in 1788, in the wake of the American Revolution and just before George Washington became the first president of the United States. Trumbull originally visited Jefferson in Paris, where he served as minster to France, and painted his portrait directly into a painting depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Trumbull copied this individual portrait from that painting. This portrait was later part of the National Gallery of Art's June 5-September 6, 1976 exhibition, The Eye of Thomas Jefferson, and was then given to the White House Collection as a bicentennial gift by the Italian government. The author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson served as president from March 4, 1801 until March 4, 1809.