The White House 1600 Sessions

There's an old saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” By that count, artist Peter Waddell is a masterful storyteller.

Beginning in 2004, the White House Historical Association commissioned the artist to create well-researched paintings to represent different periods from White House history that were not drawn, painted, or photographed definitively in their own times. The result is a collection of over a dozen pieces of artwork that capture lesser known moments of presidential life at the White House.

Stewart McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association, spoke with Peter about how these moments were chosen, the meticulous research that went into these paintings, and how Peter is able to create works that transport viewers and students to another time and another place in American history.

Stewart and Peter discuss three of his extraordinary paintings that are part of the White House Historical Association’s collection: A Vision Takes Form, 1796 about the construction of the White House; Tiber Creek: The Bathers which depicts a moment when President John Quincy Adams escaped a leaking boat; and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy at Malmaison, 1961 which shows Mrs. Kennedy visiting the home of Empress Josephine of France. The Empress’s silk draped bed chamber appears to have inspired the redesign and decoration of the Blue Room at the White House during the Kennedy administration.