
At Home with Political Portraits
Photographs of the Domestic Display of U.S. Presidents
Jennifer Wingate(Author)
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Will be published approx. on 2. April 2026
Book
Hardback
176 pages
978-1-6669-2654-5 (ISBN)
Description
At Home with Political Portraits focuses on photographs of the domestic display of three U.S. presidential icons: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama to examine everyday expressions of national pride and belonging as well as tensions these displays signal about the state of democracy.
Even though keeping political portraits in the home has traditionally been associated with authoritarian regimes, the United States has a long history with the practice, and Wingate analyzes how photos of three 20th- and 21-century U.S presidential icons plays into this history. With radio, television, and social media, respectively, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Obama entered the intimate spaces of people's daily lives in new and unprecedented ways. Exhibiting presidential portraits at home was, and is, a patriotic and commemorative act. But the photographers and artists who draw our attention to these expressions of pride and belonging, such as Jack Delano, Gordon Parks, Louis Carlos Bernal, Bruce Davidson, Jordan Casteel, and An Rong Xu, also reveal the tensions they signal.
Wingate argues how both the artists and their subjects strive to make meaning from national symbols and to locate one's place within the imagined community of nationhood. In doing so, they invite reflection on U.S. citizens' hopes and anxieties about the state of the nation's democracy.
Even though keeping political portraits in the home has traditionally been associated with authoritarian regimes, the United States has a long history with the practice, and Wingate analyzes how photos of three 20th- and 21-century U.S presidential icons plays into this history. With radio, television, and social media, respectively, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Obama entered the intimate spaces of people's daily lives in new and unprecedented ways. Exhibiting presidential portraits at home was, and is, a patriotic and commemorative act. But the photographers and artists who draw our attention to these expressions of pride and belonging, such as Jack Delano, Gordon Parks, Louis Carlos Bernal, Bruce Davidson, Jordan Casteel, and An Rong Xu, also reveal the tensions they signal.
Wingate argues how both the artists and their subjects strive to make meaning from national symbols and to locate one's place within the imagined community of nationhood. In doing so, they invite reflection on U.S. citizens' hopes and anxieties about the state of the nation's democracy.
Reviews / Votes
Over the last century, we have sometimes invited US presidents into our homes and places of work via photographic portraits. This astonishing cultural practice, which stretches from FDR to Trump, and harks back to Lincoln and to prints of Washington, tells us a lot about who we are and how we relate to the republic, its leaders and the values embedded in the practice. Richly and beautifully told, this timely book is a revelation. * Paul Staiti, Alumnae Foundation Professor of Fine Arts, Mount Holyoke College, USA *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
28 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
398 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6669-2654-5 (9781666926545)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Jennifer Wingate
At Home with Political Portraits
Photographs of the Domestic Display of U.S. Presidents
E-Book
04/2026
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic USA
€82.49
Available for download

Jennifer Wingate
At Home with Political Portraits
Photographs of the Domestic Display of U.S. Presidents
E-Book
04/2026
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic USA
€82.49
Available for download
Person
Jennifer Wingate is Professor of Fine Arts at St. Francis College, USA. She is co-editor of Teachable Moments: Using Public Art to Spark Dialogue and Confront Controversies (Bloomsbury, 2021) and author of Sculpting Doughboys: Memory, Gender, and Taste in America's World War I Memorials (2013).
Content
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Picturing Democracy
1. Roosevelt: 'To hell with any more elections, we're gonna make him king'
2. Kennedy: A Martyr and a Deity
3. Obama: My Wishes and Dreams Are with You...
Conclusion: "No Kings!"
Bibliography
Notes
About the Author
Index
Introduction: Picturing Democracy
1. Roosevelt: 'To hell with any more elections, we're gonna make him king'
2. Kennedy: A Martyr and a Deity
3. Obama: My Wishes and Dreams Are with You...
Conclusion: "No Kings!"
Bibliography
Notes
About the Author
Index