Philip A. de László
In the White House in October 1908 Theodore Roosevelt sat for a portrait painted by Hungarian born artist Philip Alexius de László.
He did it as a favor to Sir Arthur Hamilton Lee a friend and the British military attaché to the US Army in Cuba during the Spanish American War in 1898. Lee gave Roosevelt the Marcuis Simmons painting “Seats of Power” after Roosevelt admired it in his home in 1908. It became one of TR’s favorite and now hangs in the North Room.
The portrait was one of TR’s favorite because he said it was a rare, relaxed depiction rather than the more traditionally formal pose.
He also remarked it was the only portrait he truly enjoyed having painted. Philip de László let TR invite his friends over and rather than sit quietly he was talking and joking with his friends. When they couldn’t show up de László had his wife playing the violin.
The portrait now hangs in a conference room at the American Museum of Natural History, considered a Roosevelt family heirloom. In 1869 they signed the museum’s charter in the Roosevelt parlor on 20th street in NYC.
The portrait of Edith at the top of the stairs on the 2nd floor at Sagamore Hill was also done by Philip de László. When TR was alive it hung in the library facing his desk. He frequently said it was his favorite portrait of Edith.
