Unveiling the Process: Commissioning Portraits of the President and First Lady

At the start of the commissioning process, it is customary for Portrait Gallery curators to present the president and first lady with a selection of artists for consideration. When President George W. Bush received the names of ten artists, he went off script and selected Connecticut portraitist Robert Anderson, with whom he attended Yale University. The president requested an informal image and posed in shirtsleeves at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.

Learn more about the commissioning of this portrait with Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet and Curator Emeritus Carolyn Carr on an episode of the “Portraits” podcast.

Typically, a president will have two in-person sittings with the portraitist. During the first session, the artist creates reference images of the president while building rapport. They usually use the second sitting to make any necessary adjustments to the work. Due to scheduling conflicts, President Bill Clinton was unable to have a second sitting with artist Nelson Shanks.

To compensate, Shanks consulted with President Clinton’s staff before making finishing touches to the portrait, which included changing Clinton’s shoe color from brown to black and moving his tie to cover the shirt buttons. In addition, Curator Emeritus Carolyn Carr recalls that Shanks dressed a mannequin in a suit to reference while painting the president’s attire.

President Barack Obama's portrait marks a departure from the more traditional representations of presidents. It aligns with the Obamas’ special interest in modern and contemporary American art, evident through their choice to display works by artists like Glenn Ligon and Ed Ruscha in the White House. 

Portrait Gallery Curator of Painting and Sculpture Taína Caragol, who stewarded this commission, finds that this portrait reimagines political power, breaking from traditional visual representations of influential individuals.

The Portrait Gallery began commissioning portraits of first ladies with this likeness of Hillary Rodham Clinton, which was unveiled in 2006. This commission was an important step toward recognizing the increasing significance of first ladies in U.S. history and culture. More recently, the Portrait Gallery’s exhibition Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States examined this important unofficial role through the lens of portraiture.

By portraying Clinton in profile, artist Ginny Stanford alludes to depictions of ancient Roman leaders. Yet because Clinton faced constant, intense public scrutiny, Stanford also wanted to afford the sitter a measure of privacy by selecting a pose that conceals as much as it reveals. Stanford also portrayed Clinton in yellow, then her favorite color.