Talk:Portraits of presidents of the United States

Obama
The video is improperly captioned. At around 2'39", the man says "this isn't an," but it's captioned as "this is an." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.225.38.196 (talk) 20:17, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Also, "and I were using to scanned the President." Benjamin (talk) 12:58, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

FDR
Well?Cromulant (talk) 03:24, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, where is it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.201.74.170 (talk) 22:20, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

Higher Resolution Images
http://www.whitehouseresearch.org/assetbank-whha/action/browseItems?categoryId=493&categoryTypeId=1

This website has portraits of all the Presidents and most of the first ladies. If someone (or some people) could download all of these portraits in high-resolution onto this (and other) page(s), that would be great. Thank you very much. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.31.215.83 (talk) 20:31, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

John Adams portrait is incorrect
The portrait of John Adams (pres. 1797-1801) posted on this page is not a presidential portrait - it was done by John Trumbull while Adams was Washington's vice president. The correct portrait is attached here This portrait was done by Gilbert Stuart in 1798, shortly after Adams became president.

Sorry, but I don't know how to correct this on the page - would someone mind fixing it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mmeltze1 (talk • contribs) 03:36, 14 July 2011 (UTC)

Very High Resolution Portraits of all the Presidents
Are located here http://www.whitehouseresearch.org/assetbank-whha/action/viewHome. Can someone please double-check whether it is okay and permissible to use all of these high resolutiojn portraits and to download them here on Wikipedia? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Futurist110 (talk • contribs) 18:50, 25 June 2012 (UTC)

Missing portaits.
There are 41 portraits here, however, there should be 43. Gerald Ford is one of them, I can't remember the other at the moment. Any idea why they aren't here? Isn't this Ford's portrait? 134340Goat (talk) 01:06, 25 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President, was elected to 2 non-consecutive terms and appears only once here. The other missing portrait is that of George W. Bush. --180.180.44.28 (talk) 11:00, 10 January 2013 (UTC)


 * As of 2015, the presidents that are missing are Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Plus, Eisenhower's Poritrait is different than the one on the official White House Website. Yoshiman6464 (talk) 21:54, 31 December 2015 (UTC)

TR thumbnail is TR's father
The thumbnail included in the section on Theodore Roosevelt is actually a portrait of his father, also named Thoedore. The portrait shown with the other presidential portraits, is correct. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.231.245.132 (talk) 19:11, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

Wrong portrait for Reagan
Sorry, unsure how to upload images for linkage. The portrait shown here for Reagan is a photo. His official portrait, by Everett Raymond Kinstler, is here http://www.mastersofportraitart.com/portraitartists/everettraymondkinstler/portraits/reagan.jpg. This is the same portrait shown at the White House portrait site, but it isn't downloadable there. 72.208.146.215 (talk) 18:26, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

Reagan's Portrait?
Why isn't Ronald Reagan's official portrait here? Only 42 are here, and there should be 44. Where is Ford's too? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:6:6E01:3580:98CC:C303:41B:6B7F (talk) 18:20, 24 May 2015 (UTC)

Where's Reagan
In your gallery of Presidential Portraits, why is Ronald Reagan not picured? Dennis Lowery, Grand Junction, CO — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.166.5.203 (talk) 19:41, 16 June 2015 (UTC)
 * I've added a footnote explaining the exclusion of the Reagan (and Ford) portraits. Both official portraits were painted by an artist who has claimed copyright on the images, and as such they are not in the public domain. I'm going to look into re-adding them on fair use. Cheers! Bordwall( talk &frasl; ctrb ) 22:16, 16 June 2015 (UTC)

Removed Clinton
I've removed the Bill Clinton Portrait as it's the wrong one 115.42.1.220 (talk) 07:47, 11 March 2016 (UTC)

Missing content
Where are Ford, Reagan, GHW Bush, Clinton, and GW Bush? Sullyss73 (talk) 21:45, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

IPs' repeated reversions
I've again reverted the edits of ; they are adding to the article photos that do not exist. Please stop reverting to a version of this article that includes these deleted images. —  fourthords  &#124; =Λ= &#124;  19:52, 23 November 2016 (UTC)
 * File:Ronald Reagan official painting portrait.jpeg was deleted from Wikimedia Commons at 10:40, 28 October 2016 as a result of this discussion.
 * File:Portrait of George Herbert Walker Bush.jpg was deleted from Commons at 10:38, 28 October 2016 as a result of this discussion.
 * File:George W Bush - Presidential portrait.jpg was most recently deleted from Commons at 19:32, 9 November 2016 because it was a copyright violation.

history
there is no information about the establishment of the "official-ness' of this practice?

also, the gallery needs updating

Lx 121 (talk) 09:19, 25 November 2016 (UTC)

Add a note
Could a note be added explaining why missing portraits are not there ? Hektor (talk) 00:05, 31 December 2016 (UTC)
 * I restored an old note that was removed, which explained Ford and Reagan. I don't know the story or status of Bush Senior, Clinton, and Bush.Masebrock (talk) 20:19, 5 January 2017 (UTC)
 * I have now learned that they are all not in public domain due to changes in copyright law in 1989.Masebrock (talk) 20:48, 5 January 2017 (UTC)

Why are real life photographs included in this article?
Isn't this focused specifically on paintings of the Presidents? At least, that's what is implied by the opening paragraph. 70.44.154.16 (talk) 04:14, 16 February 2017 (UTC)

"Official Portraits"
The line explaining the lack of recent president's portraits calls them "official". If they are not publicly created or owned they are not "official portraits" but "portraits of a (former) official". We shouldn't reify the whims of the wealthy and powerful by conferring quasi-state sanction on their favorite pictures of themselves. Can I remove "official"? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:248:8000:2F28:C0C5:22A5:E2C4:72BB (talk) 16:15, 13 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I fail to see how a portrait not being "publicly created" removes said portrait's officiality. -- Millionsandbillions (talk) 19:58, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

Obama's portrait
On this page it says that {{tq|The official portrait for ... Barack Obama [was] painted by [an artist] who [was] not employed by the federal government at the time. [This image is] not in the public domain, and as such, [is] not included in this gallery. But File:Portrait of President Barack Obama by Kehinde Wiley.jpg states that the portrait is in fact in the public domain. If this is wrong the portrait should be deleted from Commons but if it is correct it should be included in this gallery. Note that the image is currently being used in the artilce about Kehinde Wiley. -- Millionsandbillions (talk) 19:53, 20 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the heads-up! I've tagged the image at Commons.  —   fourthords  &#124; =Λ= &#124;  16:17, 21 February 2018 (UTC)
 * It's been deleted. —   fourthords  &#124; =Λ= &#124;  22:38, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:List of Vice Presidents of the United States which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 23:02, 21 May 2018 (UTC)

External portraits link
The wording around the current link at the end of the "Gallery of presidential portraits" section implies that the external gallery includes President Obama's official portrait, but it does not. I'd like to get input for changing the link to a more complete source, such as this page on website of the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian. Another alternative would be this article at The Guardian, although this one may go too far in the other direction by placing undue weight on President Obama's portrait.

The National Portrait Gallery is of course a more authoritative source. But The Guardian orders the portraits from newest to oldest, which is likely to be more convenient for anybody following this particular link. Thoughts? Perhaps a third online gallery I failed to locate? 203.97.181.188 (talk) 22:59, 10 June 2018 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 01:21, 12 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Donald Trump 2006-09-27.jpg

Distinguishing from the National Portrait Gallery and the White House Historical Association
There are two organizations who raise private funds to commission a presidential portrait. As explained by TIME here, "In more recent history, the money has come from private donations, usually raised by the National Portrait Gallery. (The White House Historical Association has also raised private funds for portraits, but that’s a separate operation.)". Such presidents as Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama have had separate portraits painted by both entities, with Clinton's and Obama's explained within the article.

Should we have a separate list of National Portrait Gallery portraits in this article, with such examples as John Quincy Adams's (above) and James Buchanan's (below). MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 17:49, 9 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Sure, seems reasonable. Has there been prior discussion or objection to this? If not, I'm not sure I see the need for an RfC here; just go ahead and boldly make the change. &#123;{u&#124; Sdkb  }&#125;  talk 00:24, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Yes, there's been a decent amount of discussion, and opposition. I believe it warrants more discussion and investigation, if things are to be changed from the long-time status quo here. ɱ  (talk) 00:37, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Okay, in that case I'm striking my !vote, and I'd say there needs to be some links to the past context here for this RFC to be able to proceed properly. &#123;{u&#124; Sdkb  }&#125;  talk 02:16, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Where was this "decent amount of discussion", as its absent from the history of this talk page. It seems, rather, the "long-time status quo" is only the result of nobody being made aware of the difference in portraits. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 18:48, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

Even recently we have sources such as Snopes backing me up in regards to the difference between the National Portrait Gallery and the White House Historical Association. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 14:21, 23 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Okay, yes, that seems convincing. How would you propose making such a split? Do we have two complete lists of all the paintings we can cite, and are those images already uploaded? Perhaps consider first creating Commons categories for the two sets of paintings. It's clear that both sets are notable enough to be included in this article, even if split. ɱ  (talk) 21:31, 23 May 2020 (UTC)
 * I'll go about trying to get that done. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 22:08, 23 May 2020 (UTC)


 * I've collected most of all the portraits, including uploading some that weren't on Commons beforehand, and categorized them under presidential portraits belonging to the National Portrait Gallery. I compiled it going off the Gallery's "America's Presidents" collection. The Commons compilation I compiled stops at Coolidge as I assume, since the Gallery is a private institution, the paintings from Hoover on are not public domain, whilst Harding prior were made before 1925 and are eligible. Theodore Roosevelt is excluded as I cannot determine if his portrait would be in the public domain, having been made in 1967 IRC, but based off a 1908 original, which the Gallery didn't specify exactly where from, so to stay safe I didn't upload it. Washington, Van Buren, and Lincoln are similar to ones from the White House, which I assume is due to a leasing program but I am not sure as of yet. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 00:14, 24 May 2020 (UTC)
 * I also noticed Coolidge's portrait was made in 1956, so that is also ineligible. I nominated it for deletion though may have botched it, but that's another story. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 00:27, 24 May 2020 (UTC)
 * A veteran moderator on Commons found it was in the public domain, so I'll trust his instincts and reinstate it to the gallery. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 11:07, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

Did you make a separate category for the White House portraits? ɱ (talk) 14:50, 24 May 2020 (UTC)
 * No since they're already in the article, but if you feel I should I will. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 15:01, 24 May 2020 (UTC)
 * I think it would be a good idea. ɱ  (talk) 15:04, 24 May 2020 (UTC)
 * I'll see to it and link it when its finalized. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 15:06, 24 May 2020 (UTC)


 * Turns out one already exists. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 15:20, 24 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Are you dead-sure these are the WHHA ones and not NPG ones? As mentioned on this article's lead, "Presidents will often display the official portraits of other presidents whom they admire in the Oval Office or elsewhere around the White House, loaned from the National Portrait Gallery." ɱ  (talk) 16:16, 24 May 2020 (UTC)
 * I'm aware the title could point to some crossover, but the portraits in the compilation are of the ones the White House Historical Association commissioned. The subcategory links to the portrait of James Buchanan from the NPG, but it isn't tagged and the rest of the portraits aren't NPG related. I find the way to differentiate them is to go to the organizations' respective websites, such as the NPG one I linked above, and this one from the Historical Association. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 16:38, 24 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Some exceptions to this are the Lansdowne portrait of Washington, however the article page for it makes the distinction between the NPG and the Historical Association. Lincoln's is the same as well, but its safe to say that is a copy but a reversal of Washington's, where in that case the NPG owns the original and the White House a copy, the NPG owns a copy of Lincoln's and the White House the original, due to the NPG's entry for Lincoln's dating it from 1887, while Healy's was made in 1869. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 16:54, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

If everything is sorted, I can go ahead and include two separate lists for the NPG and Historical Association whenever. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 21:04, 25 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Okay. ɱ  (talk) 21:10, 25 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Sounds good. I'm going to close this RfC as it hasn't attracted much interest anyway. If you wish to discuss anything else you can respond to me at my talk page. MyPreferredUsernameWasTaken (talk) 21:23, 25 May 2020 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 01:07, 3 August 2020 (UTC)
 * President George W Bush portrait.jpg

More paintings
There were paintings for Trump and Obama I’m not sure why it says to be unveiled and to be commissioned. Also please add the other portraits for all the presidents after Nixon. Jdietr601 (talk) 16:15, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

Replacing the gallaries with a table
I would like to replace the galleries on this page with this table. The table show portraits of the two galleries side-by-side to easily compare the similarities or differences of each portrait. (Asking because removed it because "This new table of portraits is redundant; please discuss its inclusion and overall page formatting on talk page.") LegoK9 (talk) 21:46, 16 July 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 02:53, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Gemalde das George W. Bush.jpg