First Ladies Gallery

The job of the First Lady comes with no official duties, and not every First Lady has even been considered important enough to have an official portrait made. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has collected all of the paintings that do exist into a special exhibit looking at the importance of First Ladies in America. University of Pennsylvania art history professor Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, curated the exhibit, which is called “Every Eye Is Upon Me.” Pictures from left to right: Laura Bush; Artist: Aleksander Titovets, Oil on canvas, 2008; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Stewart Helen Herron Taft; Artist: Bror Kronstrand, Oil on canvas, 1910; The White House; Photo courtesy the White House Historical Association