In this photograph by Karl Schumacher, President Jimmy Carter speaks at a ceremony unveiling the official portraits of former President Gerald R. Ford and former First Lady Betty Ford on May 24, 1978. Joining President Carter onstage in the East Room of the White House were his wife, First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and the Fords. The ceremony marked the first time that a former president and first lady were invited back to the White House for their official portrait unveiling, a tradition continued by most administrations in the future.

This photograph from Harris & Ewing is of Representative Joseph "Jo" Wellington Byrns of Tennessee outside the West Wing circa 1920-1921. Byrns is photographed with an unnamed woman and a portrait of Sarah Yorke Jackson, the wife of Andrew Jackson Jr., who was the adopted son of President Andrew Jackson. Sarah filled the role of White House hostess during the last months of the Jackson administration and her portrait was added to the White House Collection in 1924. Byrns would go on to serve as the 41st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1935 to 1936. To see the portrait of Sarah Yorke Jackson, see asset 3735 in the Digital Library.

In this photograph, Capt. Howard Ker of the United States Army Corp of Engineers accepts the donation of G. P. A. Healy's 1869 portrait of President Abraham Lincoln at the White House on March 22, 1939. Capt. Ker was in charge of the buildings and grounds of the White House at the time. The portrait came into possession of the White House following the death of Mary Harlan Lincoln (wife of President Lincoln's eldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln) in 1937 and her daughter, Mary Todd "Mamie" Lincoln Isham, in 1938. According to her will, the portrait of President Lincoln was to be offered to the U.S. government following the death of her daughter as long as it was promised to be placed on display in the White House. To see Healy's portrait of President Lincoln, see asset number 5 in the Digital Library.

In this photograph by Chuck Kennedy, President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush walk side by side down the Cross Hall to a ceremony unveiling President Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush's official White House portraits. Mrs. Bush and First Lady Michelle Obama follow their husbands toward the East Room, where the ceremony took place on May 31, 2012. President and Mrs. Obama also hosted a lunch for extended members of the Bush family -- including former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush -- in the Red Room of the White House that day.

In this photograph by Pete Souza, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host a lunch for extended members of the Bush family in the Red Room on May 31, 2012. The Bush family visited the White House that day for the unveiling ceremony of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush's official White House portraits. The ceremony took place in the East Room. Seated clockwise from President Obama are: former First Lady Barbara Bush, Bucky Bush, Doro Bush Koch, Jenna Bush Hager, Marvin Bush, Jody Bush, former President George W. Bush, Mrs. Obama, former President George H. W. Bush, Patty Bush, Bobby Koch, Barbara Pierce Bush, Margaret Bush, Jonathan Bush, and former First Lady Laura Bush.

In this photograph by Lawrence Jackson, First Lady Michelle Obama speaks at a ceremony unveiling the official White House portraits of former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush on May 31, 2012 in the East Room. Mrs. Obama is joined onstage by her husband, President Barack Obama, President Bush, and Mrs. Bush. President and Mrs. Obama also hosted a lunch for extended members of the Bush family -- including former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush -- in the Red Room of the White House that day.

This photograph by Jack E. Kightlinger shows President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter holding hands on stage at their inaugural ball. The ball was held on January 20, 1977, as part of the festivities following President Carter's inauguration.

This photograph by Warren K. Leffler and Thomas J. O'Halloran was taken at the gala opening for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on September 8, 1971. The photograph captures members of the Kennedy family including --President Kennedy's mother, Rose, and younger brother, Edward M. Kennedy -- in attendance in the Opera House presidential box.

In this photograph by Lawrence Jackson, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama stand for the national anthem at the beginning of the Kennedy Center Honors on December 6, 2009. President and Mrs. Obama were in the presidential box in the Opera House at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and were flanked by Vice President Joseph R. Biden and the 2009 honorees, (from left to right) Dave Brubeck, Robert De Niro, Grace Bumbry, Mel Brooks, and Bruce Springsteen. This was the first Kennedy Center Honors hosted by President and Mrs. Obama.

In this photograph by Eric Draper, President George W. Bush stands with author Harper Lee in the East Room of the White House on Nov. 5, 2007. Lee was at the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush. Lee was best known for her classic American novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird" and received her honor alongside Liberian politician Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins, and Benjamin Hooks, civil rights leader and former executive director of the NAACP, among others.

This photograph of President Bill Clinton with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel (left) and Chairman Yasser Arafat (right) of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was taken by Vince Musi on September 13, 1993. Rabin and Arafat are captured shaking hands on the South Lawn outside the South Portico during the ceremony for the signing the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, the Middle East peace agreement more commonly known as the Oslo Accord. Rabin signed the agreement that day alongside Palestinian negotiator Mahmoud Abbas.

This photograph of President Bill Clinton with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel (left) and Chairman Yasser Arafat (right) of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was taken by Vince Musi on September 13, 1993. Rabin and Arafat are captured shaking hands on the South Lawn outside the South Portico during the ceremony for the signing the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, the Middle East peace agreement more commonly known as the Oslo Accord. Rabin signed the agreement that day alongside Palestinian negotiator Mahmoud Abbas.

In this photograph by Bill Fitz-Patrick, President Gerald R. Ford presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson in a ceremony in the East Room on January 10, 1977. President Ford presented the award in the waning days of his presidency, honoring Mrs. Johnson alongside the likes of Georgia O'Keeffe, Irving Berlin, Joe DiMaggio, Nelson Rockefeller, and Norman Rockwell.