Franklin D. Roosevelt

This painting represents the first portrait FDR sat for after his election to the presidency in 1932. In the background one of his favorite ship models appears- that of the U.S.S. Constitution. Niether Franklin, Eleanor, nor Rand, for that matter, liked the painting. Sara, however, was pleased with this likeness of her son and purchased it from the artist. The painting remained one of her favorite portraits of him and was placed in the living room of Springwood.

Born Ellen Gertrude Emmet in 1875, Ellen Emmet Rand studied drawing and painting in Boston and New York. She excelled in portraiture at The Art Students League of New York where she received instruction from William Merritt Chase and Kenyon Cox. In began her professional career as a magazine illustrator working for Vogue, Harper's Weekly and Harper's Bazaar. In 1896, she moved with her family to England where she received many commissions for portraits. She returned to New York in 1911 and set up a studio in Washington Square.