February-June 2018
From George Washington to Barack Obama, America’s past commanders in chief have provided domestic and international leadership during world wars, political unrest and the struggle for basic human rights. Their personal lives have been shaped by great joy and heartbreak, deep-rooted conflict and public scrutiny. Along the way, biographers and journalists have documented their every move and attempted to distill what it means to be an American president.
This exhibition draws on biographies from the L. Hall Hardaway, Jr. Family Presidential Book Collection and rare documents from the James G. Stahlman Autograph Collection to reflect on 230 years of executive leadership from the White House.