Norman Rockwell’s hidden White House masterpiece steps into public view

New research on Rockwell’s 1943 work reveals the real-life visitors who courted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II.

WASHINGTON–Perched in a White House waiting room during World War II, Norman Rockwell watched a cross-section of Americansfile in to see President Franklin D. Roosevelt – soldiers,lawmakersand beauty pageant winners.

They came in uniform, in heelsandwithhope of being heard by the most powerful figure in the country.They sank into a red leather couch as reporters rushed past, secretaries bustledbyand the machinery of democracy churned outside the Oval Office.

Rockwellturnedthe momentshewitnessedinto“So You Want to See thePresident!,”a four-paneled paintingpublishedbytheSaturday Evening Post in 1943.For more than 40 years, the masterpieceshungprominentlyin the West Wing of the White Housefor presidents from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump to gawk at.

Now,for the first time,they’reon display for theAmericanpublic at The People’s House, a free museumlocateda blockaway from the executive mansion.

Late last year, the White House Historical Association bought the panel of four 21-by-28-inch paintingsfor $7.25 million atHeritage Auctions, more thanthe private organizationhad spentonany other piece in its collection.

StewartMcLaurin,president of the association, believes theprice tag was well worth it.

“We’re able to offer this as a gift of exposure to the American people of an important moment in time, a significant American presidency and what it was like to be and work and operate in the White House,” McLaurin said.

Uncovering the people behind the paint

As part of its acquisition, the associationconducted newresearchtouncoverthe identities and storiesof the people Rockwell captured in his images.The association cross-referenced Rockwell’s sketches with Roosevelt’sschedules,diaries, staffrecordsand visitor logs housed at his presidential library in New York.

Visitors to the People’s House, where the Rockwell painting will hang until June 2027, will be able to watch the scene come to life through digital interactives.Created with artificial intelligence by a company called Iconic Moments, the feature will animate the characters and show them interacting with one another.

It was designed to give deeper insight intowhat Rockwell might have seen in the West Wing, said LukeBoorady, the museum’s managing director.

In the third panel,Sen. Thomas Connally, a Democrat from Texas,istransfixed inconversation withSen. Warren Austin, a Republican from Vermont.The men, bothin formal suits,appear jovialdespite their opposing political views, with smilesspreadingon their faces.

Rockwellno doubtsaw themen engaged in an animated discussion.They’rebothlistedas having visitedRoosevelt Feb. 1, 1943.

Others in the picture were more complicated to track down. Seated near the senators, a woman in a crisp white uniform appears to listen in, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Rockwellidentifiedher only as a “Wave.”Researchers now believe she was Eloise English Davies, who worked at the Navy Photo Lab in Washington and was among the first women to serve in the Navy’s Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service program. She had been at the White House on assignment when Rockwell spotted her.

Daviesis among the few women depicted in the painting.Nearby,the White House Historical Association says it identified “Miss America” as RosemaryLaPlanche, who won the pageant in 1941. She is poised ontheopposite side of the couchfrom the twosenators.

The few other women picturedappearasblack-and-whitesketches on the outer edges of thepanel.They were part of the White House staff. Rockwell wrote there were “Secretaries everywhere” in the West Wing.

Thesketches were adeliberate,stylistic choice. Thepeople plopped on the red couch at the center of the framerepresentthe people waiting to be heard, whilethosesurrounding themare the staff that moved through the room during the day.

Across the four panels, Rockwell captured a sequence of movement and anticipation: aSecret Service agent stationedat the entrance to theWhiteHouse, reporters runningto telephone booths after hearing breaking news, astaff memberpushing the“President’s lunch” while being chased by his Scottish terrier,and finally, at the very end,a slightly opened door offeringa glimpse of the president.

The composition reflectsRockwell’s fascination withthe dichotomybetween whatpeople see andwhatoperatesbehind the scenes, said Stephanie Plunkett, chief curator at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

“It does have a little bit of that concept of a comic or a graphic novel,” she said, “where an artist can showa number ofthings that are happening over the course oftime.”

The journey from 1600 to 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue

To humanize the presidency amid the height of World War II, Stephen Early, Roosevelt’s press secretary, commissioned Rockwell to create the suite of paintings.

Earlier that year, theSaturday Evening Postpublished Rockwell’s”Four Freedoms” paintings, whichwereinspired by Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address.The artistwasbeloved by Americans for hisintimateportrayals of thecountry’s values.

Before the era of AI-generated social media posts and the 24-hour cable news cycle, Rockwell and theSaturday Evening Postoffered Early an opportunityto give Americans a window into the inner workings of the White House.It helpedshapetheir understanding of the president’s job.

“Steve Early wanted tomake the president seem real, not only accessible, but seem real,” McLaurin at the White House Historical Association said.

The editor’s note that appeared with the artwork in the November 1943 issue of the magazine described the president’s waiting room as an“antechamber of democracy.” Rockwell, it said, “couldn’t imagine such an atmosphere of dignified informality prevailing just outside the sanctum of a dictator or a king.”

Today, McLaurin said, the image stands as a “portrait of its time.” The soldiers,the gas mask hanging on a coat rack, and the few women and people of color clearly depict a scene amid WWII.

Yet, the same themes of access and power have lingered around the presidency in the eight decades since.

Americans have more chances than ever in history to watch a president’s activities daily.Videosofevery speech, impromptu press conference and gaffe circulate on social media. Presidents, too, have more sway over their image with the ability to communicate directly with the public.

Anita McBride recalled walking by the paintings every day outside the press office in the West Wing when she served as a young White House staffer for President Ronald Reagan.She said she proudly pointed them out to visitors, though theywere too big to miss.

McBride said she always saw the paintings asrepresentingthe “soul of America.”

Plunkett, with the NormanRockwellMuseum, pondered whether Americans viewing the painting today would find a familiar feeling.

“There’san openness in this presentation and a willingness to connecttopeople who might not be just like us,” Plunkett said.“That is alittledifferent than the tenor today.”

Karissa Waddick covers America’s 250th anniversary for USA TODAY. She can be reached at kwaddick@usatoday.com.