Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Illustration for Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park: Set of First Editions Given to F.D.R. By the Author, Winston Churchill.
Object numberMO 1956.168
Name
Drawing
Artist
Olin Dows
(American painter and printmaker, 1904-1981)
Date1949
Mediumpaper (illustration paper, cardboard, matboard), ink, paint (gouache), pencil
Dimensionsmat H 17 1/2 in x W 20 1/4 in (44.5 cm x 51.4 cm )
sheet H 12 in x W 16 in (30.5 cm x 40.6 cm )
sheet H 12 in x W 16 in (30.5 cm x 40.6 cm )
DescriptionAn original pen and ink and ink wash drawing with gouache highlights showing a group of first edition books displayed in one of the book cabinets of Franklin D. Roosevelt's private study in the FDR Library. The books were given to FDR by the author, Winston Churchill. 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: Complete set of 1st editions of his works presented to F.D.R. by W. S. Churchill. Some lady was collecting a set of first editions to [obscured]. F.D.R. told Churchill about it and he asked to be allowed to have them. He had them all bound in the [obscured] . . . - tooled in gold - with the Roosevelt coat of arms on the covers and presented them. Each volume has both the Prime Ministers and the Presidents autographs on the fly leaf and in the last volume given by Churchill he has written "A fresh egg from the faithful hen, Quebec 1944."
The drawing is mounted to 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 161 of the book.On the reverse of the drawing is a handwritten note in ink describing the image: Complete set of 1st editions of his works presented to F.D.R. by W. S. Churchill. Some lady was collecting a set of first editions to [obscured]. F.D.R. told Churchill about it and he asked to be allowed to have them. He had them all bound in the [obscured] . . . - tooled in gold - with the Roosevelt coat of arms on the covers and presented them. Each volume has both the Prime Ministers and the Presidents autographs on the fly leaf and in the last volume given by Churchill he has written "A fresh egg from the faithful hen, Quebec 1944."
The drawing is mounted to a window mat.
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 1955.
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.Collections
Non exposé