© Getty Images

The Trump portrait -

Until recently, a portrait of US President Donald Trump was displayed on a wall in the rotunda on the third floor of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver, Colorado. The oil painting is the work of British-born artist Sarah A. Boardman, whose portrait of former president Barack Obama also hangs in the rotunda. 

© Getty Images

"Truly the worst" -

Trump's portrait had been on display for six years when in March 2025 the president described his likeness as "truly the worst" and claimed it had been "purposefully distorted." Boardman vigorously denied the allegation, saying the work was completed without "political bias, or any attempt to caricature the subject, actual or implied." Soon afterwards officials removed the portrait.

© Getty Images

Maintaining a tradition -

It has been a tradition since the late 18th century for the president of the United States to have an official portrait taken during their time in office or later, most commonly an oil painting. Those that form part of the official White House collection are regarded as definitive, and are commissioned or purchased by Congress or donated by presidential descendants. Pictured here is artist Jonathan Eastman Johnson painting a portrait of President Benjamin Harrison in 1895.

© Public Domain

George Washington (1732–1799) -

The iconic, life-size portrait of George Washington, the first president of the United States, was painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1797. Stuart is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists.

© Getty Images

John Adams (1735–1826) -

The portrait of John Adams, the second president of the Unites States, was completed by John Trumbull in 1793. Trumbull was especially known for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War.

© Getty Images

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) -

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the Unites States, sat for Rembrandt Peale in 1800. He was named by his father, also an artist, after the famous Dutch Golden Age painter.

© Getty Images

James Madison (1751–1836) -

Artist John Vanderlyn completed his portrait of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, in 1816. Vanderlyn was the grandson of noted colonial portrait painter Pieter Vanderlyn.

© Getty Images

James Monroe (1758–1831) -

The fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, sat for Samuel Morse in 1819. Besides his work as a painter, Morse was a co-developer of Morse code in 1837 and helped to develop the commercial use of telegraphy.

© Getty Images

John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) -

The portrait of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, was painted by George Peter Alexander Healy in 1858. A prolific and popular artist of his day, Healy painted portraits of several US presidents.

© Getty Images

Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) -

Ralph E. W. Earl was the "court painter" to Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. This paining was completed in 1835.

© Getty Images

Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) -

Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the Unites States, sat for George Healy in 1858. Healy lived and worked in Europe for 16 years, first in Paris and later in Rome.

© Getty Images

William Henry Harrison (1773–1841) -

The portrait of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, was painted by James Reid Lambdin in 1835. Lambdin was professor of fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

© Getty Images

John Tyler (1790–1862) -

George Healy also numbered John Tyler, the 10th president of the United States, among his presidential subjects. This painting was completed in 1859.

© Getty Images

James K. Polk (1795–1849) -

James K. Polk was the 11th president of the United States. His likeness was captured by George Healy in 1858.

© Getty Images

Zachary Taylor (1784–1850) -

Portrait artist Joseph Henry Bush completed his painting of Zachary Taylor in 1848. Bush chose to represent the 12th president of the United States in uniform to reflect his career in the United States Army as a major general.

© Getty Images

Millard Fillmore (1800–1874) -

Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States, was another one of George Healy's illustrious presidential subjects. This portrait was unveiled in 1857.

© Getty Images

Franklin Pierce (1804–1869) -

In 1858, George Healy completed his portrait of Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States. Healy had by now returned from Europe and was based in Chicago.

© Getty Images

James Buchanan (1791–1868) -

Artist John Henry Brown chose to portray James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, in watercolor rather than using oils. Furthermore, he painted his portrait, completed in 1851, on ivory instead of canvas.

© Public Domain

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) -

The official portrait of Abraham Lincoln was completed by George Healy in 1869. The 16th president of the United States was depicted in a thoughtful pose, seated with his hand to his chin.

© Getty Images

Andrew Johnson (1808–1875) -

The official White House portrait of Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, was painted by Eliphalet Frazer Andrews in 1880. Andrews won numerous commissions to create both original portraits and copies of images of deceased famous Americans.

© Getty Images

Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) -

The 18th president of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant sat for Henry Ulke in 1875. A Prussian, Henry Ulke was both a portrait painter and photographer, and a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln.

© Getty Images

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893) -

The portrait of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, was painted by Daniel Huntington in 1884. Huntington studied at Yale with fellow White House portraitist Samuel Morse.

© Getty Images

James A. Garfield (1831–1881) -

James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, sat for Calvin Curtis in 1881, just a few months before the president was fatally shot.

© Getty Images

Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886) -

Daniel Huntington's portrait of Chester A. Arthur, the 21st president of the United States, was completed in 1885, the year Arthur left office.

© Getty Images

Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) -

Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, sat for Jonathan Eastman Johnson in 1891 during the pause between his first and second terms in office. Johnson was co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

© Getty Images

Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901) -

In 1895, Jonathan Eastman Johnson was commissioned to produce a portrait of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States.

© Getty Images

William McKinley (1843–1901) -

The portrait of William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, was painted by British artist Harriet Anderson Stubbs Murphy in 1902, a year after McKinley's assassination. Murphy was one of the few women working in portraiture at the time, and the first to produce an official White House portrait.

© Getty Images

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) -

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, had his official White House portrait painted by John Singer Sargent in 1903. Born in Florence, Sargent was considered one of the leading portrait painters of his generation for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury.

© Getty Images

William Howard Taft (1857–1930) -

William Howard Taft, the 27th president of the United States, sat for his portrait by Swedish artist Anders Zorn in 1911. Zorn attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. In 1920, he established the Swedish literary Bellman Prize. 

© NL Beeld

Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) -

Frank Graham Cootes, a popular illustrator and portraitist, was commissioned in 1936 to produce a painting of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States.

© Getty Images

Warren G. Harding (1865–1923) -

Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States, sat for Edmond Smart in 1923, the year of Harding's death. Smart was a British painter most noted for his portraits of world leaders.

© Public Domain

Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) -

The 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge had his official portrait painted in 1932 by Charles Sydney Hopkinson, an award-winning artist who'd studied in Paris.

© Getty Images

Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) -

The portrait of Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, was painted in 1956 by Elmer Wesley Greene, a native of Boston who studied at the Massachusetts School of Art and the art school of the Boston Museum.

© Getty Images

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) -

British artist Frank O. Salisbury painted the portraits of six US presidents, but it's his 1947 painting of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, that remains as the official White House portrait.

© Getty Images

Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) -

Vienna-born Austrian-American painter Greta Kempton was the White House artist during the Truman administration. Her portrait of the 33rd president of the United States was unveiled in 1947.

© Getty Images

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) -

The official portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, was painted in 1967 by James Anthony Wills, an artist with no formal training but who established himself as a painter of presidents and other political figures.

© Getty Images

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) -

Jacqueline Kennedy personally selected Aaron Shikler in 1970 to provide the posthumous character study of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States.

© Public Domain

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) -

Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, sat for Elizabeth Shoumatoff in 1968. Shoumatoff, who painted other White House residents, was born in Kharkov, then part of the Russian Empire but now modern-day Kharkiv, Ukraine.

© Getty Images

Richard Nixon (1913–1994) -

Richard Nixon's portrait was painted by James Anthony Wills in 1984. Nixon was the 37th president of the United States.

© Public Domain

Gerald Ford (1913–2006) -

Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, had his official White House portrait painted by Everett Raymond Kinstler in 1977. In the 1940s and '50s, Kinstler was a noted pulp and comic book artist.

© Getty Images

Jimmy Carter (1924–2024) -

In 1982, Herbert E. Abrams was commissioned to produce the official White House portrait of Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States. Abrams was one of the leading portrait artists of his era, known for his style of traditional realism.

© Getty Images

Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) Portrait by Everett Raymond Kinstler -

Everett Kinstler also rendered the likeness of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States. He unveiled the official portrait in 1991.

© Getty Images

George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) -

The official White House portrait of George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States, was painted by Herbert Abrams in 1994. In the portrait's background is a depiction of 'The Peacemakers' by George Healy.

© Getty Images

Bill Clinton (1946–) -

The official portrait of Bill Clinton by Simmie Lee Knox was unveiled in 2002. Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, appointed Knox as the first Black American artist to receive a presidential portrait commission.

© Getty Images

George W. Bush (1946–) -

Artist John Howard Sanden painted the official portrait of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, in 2011. On May 31, 2012, Sanden's official White House portraits of the former president and First Lady Laura Bush were unveiled.

© Getty Images

Barack Obama (1961–) -

The 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama had his portrait painted in 2018 by Robert McCurdy, an artist celebrated for his photorealistic oil paintings and photographs of notable figures in contemporary history.

© Getty Images

Donald Trump (1946–) -

In 2017, Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, broke with tradition by commissioning a photograph to serve as his official White House portrait. Shealah Craighead took the image while serving as the chief official White House photographer during the first Trump administration.

© Public Domain

Joe Biden (1942–) -

Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, also opted to release a photograph as an official White House portrait. The image, not shown here, was taken by Adam Shultz in his capacity as the chief official White House photographer for the Biden administration.

© NL Beeld

Blank canvas -

As the 47th president, Trump again issued a photograph. Released in January 2025, it was taken by Daniel Torok, who is currently serving as the chief official White House photographer during Trump's second term. Meanwhile, a blank space and a small plaque bearing the name of Trump are all that remain on a wall in the Presidential Portrait Gallery where a painting of the commander in chief once hung at the Colorado Capitol in Denver. 

Sources: (White House Historical Association) (The Guardian) (NBC News) (The Coloradoan) 

See also: Fascinating little-known facts about life in the White House

© Getty Images