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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Illustration for Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park: Steeholm House
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Illustration for Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park: Steeholm House

Object numberMO 1960.39
Name Drawing
Artist (American painter and printmaker, 1904-1981)
Date1949
Mediumpaper (illustration paper, cardboard, matboard), ink, paint (gouache), pencil
Dimensionsmat H 24 in x W 20 in (61 cm x 50.8 cm )
 sheet H 19 1/2 in x W 15 in (49.5 cm x 38.1 cm )
DescriptionAn original pen and ink and ink wash drawing with gouache highlights showing Steeholm House in Salt Point, New York. The July 24, 1940 scene shows a multi-story house fronted by a fence and yard. Pulled up in front of the home is FDR (and a companion) in his Ford Phaeton automobile. Hardy Steeholm, accompanied by a small dog, is seen standing next to the Ford and chatting with FDR while Mrs. Steeholm watches from outside the home's back door. The drawing is signed by the artist in ink in the lower left below the image: Olin Dows © 1949.

On the reverse of the drawing is a handwritten note in ink describing the image: Visiting Hardin Steeholm at Salt Point and asking him to run again Ham Fish. Mrs. Steeholm is at the back door.

The drawing is mounted to a piece of cardboard and comes with a window mat.
Label TextThis drawing is one in a series of original ink wash drawings created by Olin Dows for his book, "Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park," published in 1949 by American Artists Group, Inc. Olin Dows spent two years writing the text and drawing the book's 174 illustrations. This illustration appears on page 150 of the book.

The Dows family had been lifelong friends and neighbors of the Roosevelts and were frequent guests at events at Hyde Park, NY and in Washington, DC, both before and during the presidency. In 1939, Olin Dows received a commission to design and paint the murals in the Rhinebeck, NY Post Office. In 1941, at the suggestion of President Roosevelt, Dows was commissioned to design and paint the murals in the Hyde Park Post Office as well, and worked closely with FDR in the conception and design of the murals.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDonated to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Olin Dows in 1956.
Credit LineGift of Olin Dows
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesHudson River Valley Materials (National Archives Identifier 778818)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
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