Fine Art
Featured Collection
Art in the White House
The collection of fine art at the White House has evolved and grown over time. The collection began with mostly presidential portraits, commissioned or purchased by Congress, or donated by presidential descendants. In the era before photography, some presidents invited painters to set up studios in the White House to record significant events and paint their likeness. In the late
Scholarship
Lincoln in the State Dining Room
For over 75 years, George Peter Alexander Healy’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln has remained an important aesthetic element for the White House State Dining Room. Prominently displayed above the central mantel, millions of visitors have seen it during a public tour or on a visit to the White House. Lincoln’s placement in one of the largest rooms on the Stat
Educational Resource
Presidential Portraits
Over time, the White House fine art collection has added portraits of every president and most of the first ladies. Not only do these portraits remind us how a particular president looked, especially important before the invention of photography, but they also offer historical clues through a variety of symbols, props, or backgrounds. While some presidential portraits are more famous
Educational Resource
Fine Arts and the White House
The White House is known as an office for the president and the home of the first family, but it can also be considered a museum. The Executive Mansion contains a large fine arts collection that includes some of the best American paintings and sculptures. The desire to collect fine arts for the White House developed over 200 years, and White
Collection
The Kennedys and the Arts
Scholarship
The Arts in the Kennedy White House
Historians of American music, art, and dance often explore their subjects through different topical categories such as genres, schools, and periods. This approach involves studying the individuals and groups responsible for various trends, fashions, and styles. It also means examining how these contributions broadly shaped American culture and artistic expression. Presidential historians tend to focus extensively on a respective administration,
Scholarship
Arts Advisors in the Kennedy White House
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s advocacy for the performing arts endures as a vital part of the Kennedy White House legacy. From 1961 to 1963, the White House became a focal point for arts and culture as the administration hosted numerous concerts and performances. One of the most significant White House concerts during the Kennedy years took pl
