[Theodore Roosevelt, three-quarter length portrait, seated, left hand in pocket, facing right]

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Theodore Roosevelt sits in this three-quarter view with his left hand tucked into a pocket and his body turned toward the right, a pose that gives the portrait a relaxed, informal air rather than the stiff formality common to official studio work of the era. The photograph was made by Rockwood, a New York studio that was among the leading portrait photographers of the period, and it dates to about 1900, when Roosevelt was rising to national prominence as governor of New York and then as vice presidential candidate. Its survival in the Library of Congress collection offers a useful picture of how his public image was shaped during those years.

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