American illustrator Norman Rockwell’s sketches of scenes from the White House visitor’s lobby are now on public display for the first time. The four 1940s-era sketches, titled ‘So You Want to See the President!’, show people from all walks of life waiting to see President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II.
Acquisition and Display
The White House Historical Association paid over $7 million for the sketches after they ended up on an auction block following a family dispute over their ownership. The association’s president, Stewart McLaurin, stated that the organization spared no expense to prevent the sketches from being lost to a private art collection.
The sketches will be on display through June 2027 at the historical association’s ‘The People’s House’ education center near the White House. Historians at the association have researched the people in the drawings to learn their stories, and the exhibit will include a digital component that uses modern technology to bring the characters in the sketches to life.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
