White House History Quarterly 68 - Art & Artists - McLaurin

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REFLECTIONS My Top Ten

REFLECTIONS My Top Ten

STEWART D. M C LAURIN PRESIDENT, WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

the white house collection of fine arts is among the best in the world. As you walk from room to room on the State Floor or the Ground Floor or in the nonpublic historic spaces upstairs, hundreds of paintings, drawings, and sculptures bring American history to life and speak to the rich and diverse heritage that is represented by, as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy said, the house that “belongs to the American people.”

the white house collection of fine arts is among the best in the world. As you walk from room to room on the State Floor or the Ground Floor or in the nonpublic historic spaces upstairs, hundreds of paintings, drawings, and sculptures bring American history to life and speak to the rich and diverse heritage that is represented by, as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy said, the house that “belongs to the American people.”

Dolley Madison from the fire of 1814, it is the only work in the collection that was in President’s House on November 1, 1800, when President Adams moved in.

Dolley Madison from the fire of 1814, it is the only work in the collection that was in President’s House on November 1, 1800, when President Adams moved in.

It is available in our Washington, D.C., shops or online at shop.whitehousehistory.org.

Washington to design a house

tieth-century first ladies, Edith Roosevelt, Grace Coolidge, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Nancy Reagan, who were so elegantly portrayed by master portraitists.

It is a difficult task to consider one’s favorites from such an amazing collection that has been assembled since before the first occupants, John and Abigail Adams, moved in. In thinking through the works that have inspired me in various ways I share this sampling of ten favorites. My number one favorites are Liberty and Union , a pair of paintings by Constantino Brumidi, which now hang in the West Garden Room. To me the most iconic painting of all is Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington presently displayed in the East Room. Famously saved by First Lady

The White House Historical Association has published a wonderful resource that every follower of this quarterly jour nal should have.

Third on my list is a small but very special wax profile of James Hoban, the builder selected by George Washington to design a house for the presidents who would follow him.

Third on my list is a small but very special wax profile of James Hoban, the builder selected by George Washington to design a house for the presidents who would follow him.

East Room. Famously

It is a difficult task to consider one’s favorites from such an amazing collection that has been assembled since before the first occupants, John and Abigail Adams, moved in. In thinking through the works that have inspired me in various ways I share this sampling of ten favorites. My number one favorites are Liberty and Union , a pair of paintings by Constantino Brumidi, which now hang in the West Garden Room. To me the most iconic painting of all is Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington presently displayed in the East Room. Famously saved by First Lady

My list includes two important recent acquisitions made for the collection by the White House Historical Association: Jacob Lawrence’s evocative work, The Builders, was given during the years of our collaboration with First Lady Laura Bush, and Alma Thomas’s joyful Resurrection is a gift made during our years working with First Lady Michelle Obama.

It is Art in the White House by William Kloss, which includes photographs and details on more than five hundred works of art in the collection.

My list includes two important recent acquisitions made for the collection by the White House Historical Association: Jacob Lawrence’s evocative work, The Builders, was given during the years of our collaboration with First Lady Laura Bush, and Alma Thomas’s joyful Resurrection is a gift made during our years working with First Lady Michelle Obama. The grand spirited sculptural works by Frederic Remington make my list at number five. The Bronco Buster and Coming Through the Rye are powerful expressions of a bygone era on the frontier.

The grand spirited sculptural works by Frederic Remington make my list at number five. The Bronco Buster and Coming Through the Rye are powerful expressions of a bygone era on the frontier.

Of course, the portraits of presidents and first ladies themselves are the backbone of the historic collection, and my favorites include four twentieth-century first ladies, Edith Roosevelt, Grace Coolidge, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Nancy Reagan, who were so elegantly portrayed by master portraitists. The White House Historical Association has published a wonderful resource that every follower of this quarterly journal should have. It is Art in the White House by William Kloss, which includes photographs and details on more than five hundred works of art in the collection. It is available in our Washington, D.C., shops or online at shop.whitehousehistory.org.

Of course, the portraits of presidents and first ladies themselves are the backbone of the historic collection, and my favorites include four twentieth-century first ladies, Edith Roosevelt, Grace Coolidge, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Nancy Reagan, who were so elegantly portrayed by master portraitists.

The White House Historical Association has published a wonderful resource that every follower of this quarterly journal should have. It is Art in the White House by William Kloss, which includes photographs and details on more than five hundred works of art in the collection. It is available in our Washington, D.C., shops or online at shop.whitehousehistory.org.

One

of East Room. Famously

STEWART D. M C LAURIN PRESIDENT, WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

OneConstantino Brumidi’s Liberty (above), 1869 and Union (left), 1869

STEWART D. M C LAURIN PRESIDENT, WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

Washington to design a house

Constantino Brumidi’s Liberty (above), 1869 and Union (left), 1869

James Hoban by John Christian Rauschner, c. 1800

Aaron Shikler’s Portraits of Jacqueline Kennedy , 1970 and Nancy Reagan, 1987

George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, 1797

Five

Six

Frederic Remington’s The Bronco Buster (above), cast c. 1903, and Coming Through the Rye (right), cast 1918

Lighter Relieving a Steamboat Aground by George Caleb Bingham, 1847

Seven

The Builders by Jacob Lawrence, 1947

Resurrection by Alma Thomas, 1966

Edith Carow Roosevelt by Chartran, 1902

Grace Goodhue Coolidge by Howard Chandler Christy, 1924