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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.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Portrait
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Portrait

Artifact IDMO 1969.23a
Object Type Painting
Maker (American, 1870 - 1930)
Date1915
Mediumwatercolor on ivory
Dimensionspainting H 6 in x W 4 1/2 in x D 5/8 in (15.2 cm x 11.4 cm x 1.6 cm )
 frame H 7 3/8 in x W 5 1/8 in x D 5/8 in (18.7 cm x 13 cm x 1.6 cm )
Physical DescriptionA miniature portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt, age 33. It depicts him in a seated position holding a newspaper in one hand and his pince-nez eyeglasses in the other. He is dressed in a dark gray suit, white shirt with high collar, and tie. The background of the painting is stippled in tones of blue, orange, and green. The artist's signature is in the lower left: C. P. NEWELL, 1915. The painting is glazed and framed in an easel-type brass frame with a hanging loop at the top.
Historical NoteThis portrait was painted from life in 1915 by Claude P. Newell. FDR’s mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, commissioned the portrait (along with a portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt and a group portrait of the Roosevelt children—Elliott, James, and Anna) to mark Franklin and Eleanor’s tenth wedding anniversary. It is on display in the FAMILY LIFE exhibit in the Museum’s FOUNDATIONS OF A PUBLIC LIFE gallery.
Additional Details
Credit LineGift of Anna Roosevelt Halsted
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPortraits (National Archives Identifier 778816)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
On view
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