Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Portrait
Artifact IDMO 1955.73
Object Type
Painting
Artist
Francis Owen Salisbury
(British, 1874 - 1962)
Date1935
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionsframe H 63 in x W 52 1/2 in x D 2 1/4 in (160 cm x 133.4 cm x 5.7 cm )
Physical DescriptionAn oil painting of Franklin D. Roosevelt, three-quarter figure, right profile, seated at his desk in the Executive Office of the White House. His left hand rests on the desk and his right hand rests on the chair arm. FDR is dressed in a dark double-breasted suit, white shirt, blue tie, and white pocket handkerchief. The painting is signed by the artist in the lower left: Frank O. Salisbury 1935. It is framed in an ornate 6 1/2" black wood frame with carved gilt trim and ornamentation.
Historical NoteThis is one of three versions of Frank Owen Salisbury’s portrait of Franklin Roosevelt seated at his Oval Office desk. The original was commissioned by Myron Taylor for the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Salisbury later made this copy for FDR. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman asked Salisbury to create another copy to serve as the official White House portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This portrait is on display in in the FDR’S OVAL OFFICE DESK exhibit in the Museum’s APRIL 12, 1945 gallery.Additional Details
Credit LineGift of Eleanor Roosevelt
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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