GWB official portrait

We’ve seen George W Bush’s portraits for Yale and the National Portrait gallery, but now he has been to the White House to unveil his official portrait. It’s a handsome rendition of him in the Oval Office with a chair from the Blue Room. Laura’s is a formal depiction in a full-length gown.

Nancy Reagan’s health

90-year-old Nancy Reagan is being reported as recovering from a fall in her home some weeks ago. It was not reported at the time, and is only being made public now due to her cancellation of an appearance at the Reagan Library.

Best wishes to her and her family.

Truman gest busy

My hat is off to Matthew, who directed me to a terrific find…

The December 13, 1948 issue of Life magazine, wherein President Truman’s East Wing and West Wing first floors are diagrammed with offices designated. What a find! The fun starts on page 35….

Thanks, Matthew!

I’ve added images of the wing diagrams and ordered a copy of the magazine from eBay. When that comes, I’ll scan it and re-do the diagrams so the labels are more readable.

What do these images tell us that we didn’t already know? Well, they show that we (Pete Sharkey and I) have the East Wing elevator on the wrong side of the corridor, and that the main hall there is a little too wide, which distorts our depiction of the offices on the east side. It’s hard to say what the modern orientation of rooms is, since walls may have been moved in the past 64 years, so I’ll leave those as they are. The West Wing diagram shows that the swimming pool dressing rooms were still very likely intact and generally clarifies the north side. And of course both diagrams show who occupied which offices, which is of historical interest.