Art: White House Prizes

Not since Dolley Madison whisked a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington from under the noses of the invading British has a First Lady shown such an interest in the art that hangs in the White House. Jacqueline Kennedy has not only refurbished much of the mansion (see THE NATION), but she has, with the help of a committee of connoisseurs, been scouring the country for works of art that have some connection with the White House or with U.S. history in general.

Last week the committee announced that it had acquired—through purchase, gift and loan—22 items, including a painting on tin of the Capitol as it appeared in 1835, an oil of the first naval action of the War of 1812, bronzes of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. The acquisitions were perhaps stronger on history than on art, but some were strong on art as well.

The best: five Gilbert Stuart portraits of the first five U.S. Presidents.