Official White House portrait by Elizabeth Shoumatoff, 1968.

This oil on canvas portrait of First Lady Lady Bird Johnson was painted by Elizabeth Shoumatoff. Mrs. Johnson graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in journalism. During her life prior to the White House, her business acumen meant she became the first First Lady to be a millionaire in her own right. As First Lady, she spearheaded beautification projects spanning cities and highways and initiated several firsts for her office. She was the first to have a press secretary and chief of staff, as well as the first to do a solo tour to campaign for major policy issues, such as the Civil Rights Act. Her husband, Lyndon Johnson, served as president from November 22, 1963 until January 20, 1969

Credit: Library of Congress

Page
The First Ladies Symposium Videos
Page
The First Ladies Symposium
Page
The First Ladies: Fifty Years of Fashion and Style, 1960-2010

Read Digital Edition Foreword: Beyond the Sparkle by Marcia Mallet AndersonJean Louis Mazéas Hairstylist to First Ladies and White House Brides by Lauren McGwinSeduced by Style: Lady Bird Johnson's White House Fashion by Kimberly Chrisman-CampbellFrom Hollywood to the White House Nancy Reagan's Style: Her Lasting Collaboration with James Galanos by Rebecca Durgin KerrThe Silver Fox: Barbara Bush and Her S
Page
The First Ladies Symposium Schedule

May 6, 2021This program will be virtual9:00-9:15amWelcome and Overview Jill Biden, First Lady of the United StatesAnita McBride, Director of American University’s First Ladies Initiative and White House Historical Association Board MemberFrederick J. Ryan Jr., Chairman, Board of Directors, White House Historical Association Sylvia Burwell, President, American University9:15-10:35amFirst Ladies and GenderIntroduced and moderated by Colleen Shogan, Se
Page
The First Ladies Symposium Contributors

Jill BidenJill Tracy Jacobs Biden was born on June 3, 1951, in Hammonton, New Jersey. Growing up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, she graduated from Upper Moreland High School in 1969. She attended the University of Delaware, receiving a bachelor’s degree in English in 1975. That same year, she met Senator Joseph R. Biden of Delaware. On June 17, 1977, they were married in New York Ci
Page
Mid-Century Fashion and the First Ladies: From Ready-to-Wear to Haute Couture

Read Digital VersionForeword, William SealeThe Style of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt: Fashion and Frugality in Times of Depression and War, Morgan BlattenbergThe Mamie Look: The Americanness of First Lady Mamie Eisenhower’s Off-the-Rack Fashions, Kristen A. HunterThe Jackie Look: Oleg Cassini and the Creation of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s Signature Style, Haley M. RiveroTeardrops of the Moon: Memories of Desi
Page
First Ladies' Private Lives

In the early decades of the republic a president's wife, like other wives, seldom displayed her private life to the eyes of the public. Few images of first ladies in recreational roles appeared until the early twentieth century, when American women gained new status and freedom in a fast-changing society. Today along with the title first lady, the president's wife
Page
The First Ladies

Read Digital EditionForeword, William SealeThe Office of the First Lady: Managing Public Duties, Private Lives, and Changing Expectations, Anita B. McBrideThe Lady Bird Special: The Power of a Whistle-stop Campaign, Linda J. HoldenFirst Lady Lou Henry Hoover and the First White House Catalog, Elizabeth DinschelWhite House Furnishings, Prepared for Lou Henry Hoover by Dare Stark McMullin, December 1932Mary Lincoln: A
Podcast
U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies

Featuring Anita McBride, founding member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education and co-author of U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies
Collection
Animal Ambassadors

Animals, whether pampered household pets, working livestock, birds, squirrels, or strays, have long been a major part of White House life. Some pets provided companionship to the president and his family. Others gained fame for a role in shaping the president's image. No matter what job was bestowed upon them, pets at the Executive Mansion did it well.This collection
Collection
The Nixon White House 1969 - 1974

On January 20, 1969, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. During his time in the White House (1969–74), President Nixon sought to unite a divided nation after the social, political, and cultural turbulence of the 1960s. Before becoming president, Nixon served in the U.S. Navy, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as
Collection
Presidential and First Lady Portraits

Since 1965, the White House Historical Association has been proud to fund the official portraits of our presidents and first ladies, a long-standing tradition of the White House Collection. Recent presidents and first ladies typically select their respective artists before leaving the White House and approve the portraits before their formal presentation to the public and induction into the collection. The