The Norman Rockwell painting So You Want To See The President!, commissioned in 1943 by White House press secretary Stephen Early, has been purchased by the White House Historical Association for $7.25 million. It is now on public view one block from the White House through June 2027.
The painting depicts visitors waiting to see President Franklin D. Roosevelt, including Secret Service officers, reporters, Miss America, a cameraman, a Scottish soldier, and military officials. Roosevelt appears in a small sketch in the lower right corner.
Background
Rockwell created the work after sitting in the West Wing sketching visitors and details such as gas masks labeled 'President's gas mask.' His original sketches and photographs were destroyed in a May 1943 fire. He returned to the White House to recreate them.
Ownership dispute
Rockwell gave the original paintings to Stephen Early. After Early's death in 1951 without a will, the artwork passed to his daughter Helen and later to her son William Elam. In 2017, other family members claimed partial ownership, leading to litigation. A federal judge ruled in 2023 that Elam had sole ownership.
Auction and display
Elam decided to auction the paintings in 2023. The White House Historical Association won the bid at $7.25 million, the highest price the nonprofit has paid for artwork.
Controversy over Miss America model
Rockwell's Miss America figure was based on multiple women. Rosemary LaPlanche, Miss America 1941, is identified by the White House Historical Association as the subject. However, the family of Marie McIntyre claims she served as a model for the figure. McIntyre's son stated that Rockwell directed a photo shoot with her, changed her dress color from print to yellow, and changed her hair from blonde to red.
Love story
A WAVE named Eloise English, who appears in the painting, was later contacted by fighter pilot Thomas Eloise Davies after he saw her in the Saturday Evening Post publication. They married and were together for 46 years.
Key facts
- The painting appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in November 1943.
- It spent more than 40 years hanging in the White House.
- The White House Historical Association's display will run through June 2027.