White House Historical Association Pays Record $7.25 Million to Reclaim Norman Rockwell Sketches
Four 1943 artworks that once hung in the West Wing return to the White House collection after auction win
The White House Historical Association has secured a set of four Norman Rockwell sketches for a total of $7.25 million, reclaiming pieces that were once displayed in the West Wing.
The portfolio, titled “So You Want to See the President!”, depicts a cross-section of Americans — journalists, military officers and even a Miss America pageant winner — seated in red chairs as they await a meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The works were removed from display in 2022 amid a family ownership dispute.
The winning bid for the sketches was $5.8 million; with buyer’s premium and associated fees, the acquisition amounted to $7.25 million, marking the highest purchase price in the Association’s history.
The previous record acquisition stood at $1.5 million for Jacob Lawrence’s “The Builders.”
Created in 1943 and first published in The Saturday Evening Post, the Rockwell set is the only known quartet of interrelated narrative drawings by the artist.
The series was gifted by Rockwell to Roosevelt’s press-secretary, Stephen Early, and remained on loan at the White House from 1978 until 2022. After a legal ruling affirmed ownership by the Early family’s heirs, the works were placed in an auction hosted by a major house in Dallas.
In announcing the purchase, Association board member Anita McBride described the reacquisition as “personally thrilling,” while Association President Stewart McLaurin said the sketches will help teach White House history for generations.
Plans are underway to display the works at The People’s House: A White House Experience, the interactive education centre opened by the Association in September 2024.
Established in 1961 by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, the White House Historical Association is a non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving artifacts linked to the White House’s history and cultural legacy.
The organisation receives no government funding and relies on private support and merchandise sales to fulfil its mission.
With the Rockwell series now back in the collection, the Association reinforces its commitment to safeguarding American-iconic art and presenting it within the context of the White House’s historical narrative.
The portfolio, titled “So You Want to See the President!”, depicts a cross-section of Americans — journalists, military officers and even a Miss America pageant winner — seated in red chairs as they await a meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The works were removed from display in 2022 amid a family ownership dispute.
The winning bid for the sketches was $5.8 million; with buyer’s premium and associated fees, the acquisition amounted to $7.25 million, marking the highest purchase price in the Association’s history.
The previous record acquisition stood at $1.5 million for Jacob Lawrence’s “The Builders.”
Created in 1943 and first published in The Saturday Evening Post, the Rockwell set is the only known quartet of interrelated narrative drawings by the artist.
The series was gifted by Rockwell to Roosevelt’s press-secretary, Stephen Early, and remained on loan at the White House from 1978 until 2022. After a legal ruling affirmed ownership by the Early family’s heirs, the works were placed in an auction hosted by a major house in Dallas.
In announcing the purchase, Association board member Anita McBride described the reacquisition as “personally thrilling,” while Association President Stewart McLaurin said the sketches will help teach White House history for generations.
Plans are underway to display the works at The People’s House: A White House Experience, the interactive education centre opened by the Association in September 2024.
Established in 1961 by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, the White House Historical Association is a non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving artifacts linked to the White House’s history and cultural legacy.
The organisation receives no government funding and relies on private support and merchandise sales to fulfil its mission.
With the Rockwell series now back in the collection, the Association reinforces its commitment to safeguarding American-iconic art and presenting it within the context of the White House’s historical narrative.
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