Collection An Artist Visits the White House Past
From its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior of the White...
Visitors from the East by Peter Waddell
- Artist
- Peter Waddell
- Medium
- Oil
- Type
- Historical Depiction
- Credit
- The White House Historical Association
Visitors from the East by Peter Waddell
President Buchanan Greets Visitors From Far Away, 1860. Peter Waddell, Visitors From the East, oil on canvas, 48 x 60.
When President James Buchanan welcomed a delegation from Japan to the White House, the foreign visitors considered it lacking, without towers or a moat. They did admit it was handsomely furnished. The three samurai were the first Japanese ever to visit the United States, and they became instant celebrities. For their part, the Japanese considered America to be an inferior society, not likely to last long.
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