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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.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Portrait

Artifact IDMO 1955.128
Object Type Painting
Artist (American artist, 1888-1960)
Date1933
Mediumpaint (oil), canvas, wood
Dimensionsframe H 56 1/4 in x W 46 1/4 in x D 2 1/2 in (142.9 cm x 117.5 cm x 6.4 cm )
 painting (on stretcher) H 50 1/4 in x W 40 in (127.6 cm x 101.6 cm )
Physical DescriptionAn oil painting of Franklin D. Roosevelt, three-quarter figure, head and body turned partially to the proper right. FDR is seated in a high-backed armchair and behind a cloth covered table on which his left hand rests next to two volumes of books. His right arm rests on the arm of the chair and a document is held in his hand. In the left background of the scene, against a fabric drape, is a carved wooden table on which sits a bust of George Washington, a model of a three-masted sailing ship, and a book. FDR is dressed in a black double-breasted suit, a white shirt, and a black tie. On his left hand is a pinkie ring, and his Harvard Phi Betta Kappa key (see MO 1941.39.18) hangs from his lapel. The painting is signed by the artist in the lower right corner: Edward. P. Buyck / 1933 / USA.

The portrait is framed in a decorative 3½" carved wood frame with a gilt finish and red undertones. A notation written on the reverse of canvas reads: Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt / By Edward P. Buyck / 1933 - painting in the U.S.A. Additional notations on the frame and stretcher indicate the artist, Edward P. Buyck, is from Slingerlands, New York.
Historical NoteArtist Edward P. Buyck of Slingerlands, New York painted this portrait of President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt from life. Painted in Hyde Park and Albany, New York before FDR's first inauguration, the final sitting took place on January 14, 1933. It was the first portrait FDR sat for following his election. After being displayed at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC during the March 1933 presidential inaugural period, the portrait was shortly thereafter delivered to Eleanor Roosevelt at the White House on behalf of the artist. The painting hung for a time in the second floor corridor of the White House.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteSent to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by the White House in 1955. It was donated as a bequest of FDR to the Library in 1947.
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPortraits (National Archives Identifier 778816)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view
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