Snapshots of the Past

View of the east front of the President's House. – Vintage Photo Print

View of the east front of the President's House., 1807 — historic drawing
View of the east front of the President's House., 1807. Historic drawing from the White House collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this historic drawing of View of the east front of the President's House.. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

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View of the east front of the President's House.

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Few drawings show the White House's eastern face as clearly as this 1807 watercolor and ink view, which belongs to the architectural drawings of Benjamin Henry Latrobe's office. Latrobe was then overseeing work on both the President's House and the Capitol, and this sheet reflects his plans for a columned portico on the east side. That portico was not finished until the 1820s, after British forces burned the building in 1814. The drawing is worth studying for the contrast it sets between an architect's proposed entrance and the simpler front the building had at the time.

Created / published1807
Medium1 drawing on paper : watercolor, ink, and wash ; 39 x 51 cm.
GenreD73 Forms part of: Architectural drawings for the White House... in the Benjamin Henry Latrobe Archive (Library of Congress). Published in: Eyes of the nation : a visual history of the United States / Vincent Virga and curators of the Library of Congress ; historical commentary by Alan Brinkley. New York : Knopf
NotesTitle devised by Library staff. Inscription on recto: View of the East front of the President's House
SubjectsWhite House (Washington, D.C.)--1800-1810. Official residences--Washington (D.C.)--1800-1810. Porticoes (Porches)--Washington (D.C.)--1800-1810.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,442 × 1,097 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-176811

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