History Happy Hour: Love and Life - Controversy in Lafayette Square

Renowned Victorian painter George F. Watts gifted his painting "Love and Life" to the American people in 1893, and the painting made its way to the White House. Despite Watts’s celebrity, his gift caused a scandal after the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union protested the painting’s “immoral” depiction of two nude figures. As a result, Watts’s painting spent several administrations being sent between the White House and the Corcoran Gallery of Art on Lafayette Park based upon the whims of the first family and the response of the American public. Join us Thursday, December 8 at 5:30 pm to hear WHHA Historian Sarah Fling discuss this painting that caused controversy over White House art! This will be the fourth and final episode of our series on Lafayette Square.

History Happy Hour is a biweekly virtual program hosted by the White House Historical Association. Join us as experts weigh in on a variety of historical topics, share their insights, answer audience questions, and enjoy presidential-inspired libations.

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