Existing comment:
The National Portrait Gallery is proud to hold one of two official national collections of presidential portraits. The other belongs to the White House. Some of the portraits are more sophisticated than others; some are calculated to impress us with their gravity; some are warmly intimate. Together they have one thing in common; they all evoke the history of the nation's highest office and the individuals who have held it in trust for the American people.
The first citizens of our republic came to know their presidents through paintings, sculpture, or prints. Later, representation was enhanced through photographs and then through the technological revolutions of film, radio, television, and other new media. In all of these forms, the president's portrayal has reflected an ongoing dialogue about the office itself, and posing for the presidential portrait has become part of the process by which chief executives have affirmed their understanding of the role. |