Art for the White House: A Changing Portrait of America

The White House is more than just the home of the president. It's also a reflection of America's history through art. And a new book, Art for the White House, The Changing Portrait of America, explores how the presidential art collection has evolved over more than two centuries. So joining us live to get into this, we've got author Leslie Green Bowman, who helped shape that collection during nearly 30 years on the committee for the preservation of the White House. So, Leslie, good morning to you. Thanks for joining us here in Atlanta. Good morning, Elise. Thanks for having me. Of course. So many times I feel like when we look at the White House, We're looking at, you know, the man in the highest office, maybe his family, but perhaps not the art. So what made you take a closer look at this and focus on this in your book? Well, it's in honor of our semi-quincentennial, of course, 250 years of this country's history. And the art in the White House is a wonderful way to celebrate our artistic and cultural achievements. So it was a joy to pick 150 pieces and reveal a hidden treasure. I think most people aren't aware that there is an extraordinary American art collection inside the walls of the White House that is really we the people in the people's house. So you broke this down into different themes. So themes like independence, westward expansion, and innovation. Why did you choose that approach? I chose that approach because those are the themes that really flowed from Jackie Kennedy's establishing of this collection. The collection was really a somewhat lackluster collection of presidential portraits until Jackie Kennedy got into the White House in 1961 and made the White House her project. And she expanded it from portraits to the whole breadth and variety of American art, our greatest artists. And she developed these themes in our history to elucidate our ideals, our history, our culture, our achievements and our challenges. So you've got quite the impressive resume. I mean, you served on the Preservation Committee under five presidents, which is pretty incredible. So what would you say are some of the most memorable works that were acquired during your time there, Leslie? Well, you're sweet to ask that question. It was always an honor. And I think it's always the first in the collection that are the most moving. The first African-American artist acquired in the collection was under the Clinton administration. First Lady Hillary Clinton actively sought out the great work by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Sand Dunes at Sunset, great landscape in the collection. I felt the same way when a wonderful Jacob Lawrence came into the collection, The Builders, Jacob Lawrence being the third African-American artist to enter the collection, and an incredible work of modernism, really an abstraction of his home in Harlem and a construction site and it's a beautiful vivid work that hangs in the green room and I would say the Alma Thomas the first black woman artist to enter the collection these are milestones that were just really moving something I thought that was really interesting in the book too talking about the Mona Lisa you know probably safe to say one of the most recognizable pieces of art in history you know most of us recognize the Mona Lisa but we might not realize that at some point the painting was in the White House so what's the story behind that well it was close to the White House and it was thanks to Jackie Kennedy first lady at the time she had a great rapport with the French ambassador having lived in France and being fluent in French and known for her taste and culture and she negotiated that the French which was specifically the Louvre would loan their most famous painting to the United States for eight weeks. It was in the National Gallery in Washington and then at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and seen by two million people. That's so interesting. It was a conquest. Yeah, that really is. So give us a little bit of dirt here, Leslie. Is there any piece of art in the White House that's one they maybe tuck into a room that's not seen so much or maybe just peeking out from behind the curtains just a little bit, like one that's more like that? Well, sure. Let's go behind the scenes into the family dining room, which has occasionally actually been on the public tour but it really represents the moment when the collection becomes strong in modernism and that was a tough thing to do because there was a policy instituted by Jackie Kennedy that living artists should not be represented in the collection it was too political of course and that the art should be time tested so of course modernism being mid-20th century it took a little while before it was really eligible to be represented in the collection and it started again with Jackie Kennedy she bought she acquired the first piece but it really blossomed under the Obama administration and the family dining room has a Rauschenberg and this brilliant painting called Resurrection by Washington colorist Alma Thomas and Joseph Albers so it's a moment when it really is a great look behind the scenes because you're expecting rooms with more traditional art like the blue room or the red room or the green room. And then you have this stunning panoply of abstraction and innovation and color in the family dining room. I love that. I'm so glad you shared that with us. Such an interesting look into the White House, the incredible art collection found there. So author Leslie Green Bowman. Leslie, thank you so much for checking in with us here in Atlanta. We appreciate it. Enjoyed visiting with you. My pleasure, Elise. Thank you. And art for the White House, The Changing Portrait of America is out November 3rd.