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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: The Surprise
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: The Surprise

Artifact IDMO 1956.59
Object Type Drawing
Artist (American painter and printmaker, 1904-1981)
Date1949
Mediumpaper (illustration paper, cardboard, matboard), ink, paint (gouache), pencil
Dimensionsmat H 20 in x W 15 in (50.8 cm x 38.1 cm )
 sheet H 7 1/2 in x W 10 1/4 in (19.1 cm x 26 cm )
Physical DescriptionAn original pen and ink and ink wash drawing with gouache highlights of the three-masted clipper ship, SURPRISE, at full sail. The drawing is signed by the artist in ink in the lower left below the image: Olin Dows © 1949.

The drawing is mounted to a piece of cardboard and comes with a window mat on which the title is written in pencil: The "Surprise".
Historical NoteThis 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 12 of the book where it is captioned: THE CLIPPER SHIP "SURPRISE" ON WHICH SARA DELANO WENT FROM NEW YORK TO HONGKONG [sic] IN 1862. FROM A PAINTING HANGING IN F.D.R.'S STUDY.

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.
In Collection(s)
Not on view