"A portrait is a picture in which there is just a tiny little something not quite right about the mouth." -- John Singer Sargent

Friday, April 1, 2016

Franklin D. Roosevelt





This 1945 Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.
"When Franklin Roosevelt began serving in New York's state legislature in 1911, some observers declared him ill-suited to the rough realities of politics. But Roosevelt thrived on those realities; some two decades later, he was advancing from the New York governorship to the presidency.

Taking office against the bleak backdrop of the Great Depression, Roosevelt responded quickly to this economic disaster with a host of regulatory and welfare measures that redefined the government's role in American life. Among conservatives, the new federal involvement in matters traditionally left to the private sector was a betrayal of America's ideals. But in other quarters, Roosevelt's activism inspired an unwavering popularity that led to his election to an unprecedented four terms.

When Roosevelt sat for this portrait in 1945, his presidential concerns had long since shifted to guiding the nation through World War II. This likeness is a study for a larger painting a sketch of which appears at the lower left commemorating Roosevelt's meeting with wartime Allied leaders, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin at Yalta." -- National Portrait Gallery

An outline sketch of the projected painting "Big Three at Yalta" is included in the lower left corner.


































The Smithsonian further describes this portrait.
"When Franklin Roosevelt began serving in New York's state legislature in 1911, some observers declared him ill-suited to the rough realities of politics. But Roosevelt thrived on those realities; some two decades later, he was advancing from the New York governorship to the presidency.

Taking office against the bleak backdrop of the Great Depression, Roosevelt responded quickly to this economic disaster with a host of regulatory and welfare measures that redefined the government's role in American life. Among conservatives, the new federal involvement in matters traditionally left to the private sector was a betrayal of America's ideals. But in other quarters, Roosevelt's activism inspired an unwavering popularity that led to his election to an unprecedented four terms.

When Roosevelt sat for this portrait in 1945, his presidential concerns had long since shifted to guiding the nation through World War II. This likeness is a study for a larger painting-a sketch of which appears at the lower left-commemorating Roosevelt's meeting with wartime Allied leaders Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin at Yalta." -- Smithsonian Institution.
 
   

Chandor's painting includes FDR's hand OKing the project.


A portrait of Churchill, also a study for the "Big Three" project, can be found in the National Portrait Gallery,  The Portrait Gallery: Winston Churchill.  

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