Norman Rockwell exhibit opens at “The People’s House” in D.C.

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A collection of four Norman Rockwell paintings that spent nearly 40 years on display in the White House West Wing is now on display to the public for the first time at “The People’s House.”

The exhibit features “So You Want to See the President!” — described as the only known suite of Norman Rockwell paintings that tell a single, continuous story. The four panels were unveiled June 25 at the museum.

“It’s a part of White House history and we just wanted to be able to display them to the public for the first time,” said Luke Boorady, Managing Director of The People’s House.

The series was commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s press secretary Steve Early during World War II. Rockwell based the paintings on real-life observations, placing the American public at the center of the work.

“It’s really about the people who are going there to meet the president on any given day,” Boorady said.

Despite the subject matter, the president himself is only a minor figure in the series.

“It is an artwork of a president, except the president is in the bottom right corner of one of these four panels,” Boorady said, pointing to FDR just visible through a cracked door.

The exhibit includes an interactive element designed to help visitors connect with the people depicted in the paintings, with animations of each figure available for guests to swipe through on a tablet.

“Really one of the ways that we want people to feel connected to it is through the interactive component and seeing these people come to life, learn a little bit more about them,” Boorady said.

“So You Want to See the President!” will be on view through June 2027. The People’s House is an interactive museum crafted by the White House Historical Society.