At Home with Political Portraits
Photographs of the Domestic Display of U.S. Presidents
1st Edition
Published on 2. April 2026
176 pages
978-1-9787-6662-4 (ISBN)
Description
Focusing on photographs depicting the domestic display of three US presidential icons - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama - Jennifer Wingate examines everyday expressions of national pride and belonging alongside the tension that these displays signal about the state of democracy.
Wingate explores how, although keeping political portraits in the home is traditionally associated with authoritarian regimes, the United States also has a long history with the practice as both a patriotic and commemorative act. Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Obama are particularly representative of this history, she contends, as the rise of radio, television, and social media respectively allowed them to enter the intimate spaces of our daily lives in unprecedented ways.
While photographers and artists such as Jack Delano, Gordon Parks, and Jordan Casteel draw attention to these displays of pride and belonging, they also reveal the tensions that these portraits represent as the artists and their subjects strive to make meaning from national symbols and to locate their place within the imagined community of nationhood. In doing so, Wingate argues, they invite reflection on our hopes and anxieties about the state of our nation's democracy.
Wingate explores how, although keeping political portraits in the home is traditionally associated with authoritarian regimes, the United States also has a long history with the practice as both a patriotic and commemorative act. Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Obama are particularly representative of this history, she contends, as the rise of radio, television, and social media respectively allowed them to enter the intimate spaces of our daily lives in unprecedented ways.
While photographers and artists such as Jack Delano, Gordon Parks, and Jordan Casteel draw attention to these displays of pride and belonging, they also reveal the tensions that these portraits represent as the artists and their subjects strive to make meaning from national symbols and to locate their place within the imagined community of nationhood. In doing so, Wingate argues, they invite reflection on our hopes and anxieties about the state of our nation's democracy.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
28 bw illus
ISBN-13
978-1-9787-6662-4 (9781978766624)
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
Book
approx. 04/2026
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
€104.10
Not yet published
Person
Jennifer Wingate is an art historian based in the USA.
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
