Existing comment:
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945
Born Hyde Park, New York
Artist Herman Perlman was born in Poland and lived in Russia until 1914, when his family immigrated to Columbus, Ohio. In 1924, he moved to Washington, D.C., and studied art at the Maryland Institute College of Art in nearby Baltimore. When he created this likeness, Perlman had already been drawing portraits, particularly caricatures, for nearly ten years. Here, he depicts the president as a debonair yet slightly self-satisfied figure, emphasizing his patrician background. Perlman often made caricatures for the Washington Post. When the paper periodically laid him off during the Depression, he took side jobs for theaters and other organizations. Perlman drew caricatures of many public figures, including Andrew Mellon, Will Rogers, Herbert Hoover, and Dean Acheson. His subjects were rarely offended by his clever likenesses. In fact, many autographed the original drawings, just as Roosevelt signed this portrait.
Herman Perlman, 1935 |