Painting the President and First Lady

Special Lecture, "Painting the President and First Lady: The White House Portraits," by John Howard Sanden

We are delighted to announce a special lecture that will be given by artist John Howard Sanden, “Painting the President and First Lady: The White House Portraits.” The lecture will take place at the Birmingham Museum of Art on Tuesday, September 24th at 10:30 a.m.

Mr. Sanden will trace the 235-year history of official White House portraiture, looking most closely at the artistic triumphs that ornament the collection. He will also recall highlights of his own experience in creating the official portraits of President and Mrs. George W. Bush that were unveiled at the White House on May 31, 2012. Mr. Sanden will answer questions about which artist has painted the most presidential portraits, why there are 43 presidential portraits but only 29 first lady portraits and more.