The Roosevelts' Art: Personal Stories

Can art reveal something new about a person we think we know? Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt owned and enjoyed a wide variety of art. They filled the walls of their homes in Hyde Park, New York City, Warm Springs, and Washington, D.C. with paintings, prints, and drawings.

This special exhibition presented 22 diverse works of art selected from the Museum collection of the FDR Library that have a special meaning or connection to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Some provide windows into friendships, family bonds, or political relationships. Others reveal intellectual interests or cast light on dramatic moments. Still others offer only hints about their deeper meaning to their owner—mere glimpses into a private world. They are open to multiple interpretations—and are interesting for that reason.

Together, these artworks offer us a different way to encounter the Roosevelts—one that can yield new insights into the many sides of these two complex individuals.