Art at the Residence

The Family Dining Room and Offices

Experience a blend of Pennsylvania history and art, featuring portraits of famous residents, local contemporary art, and historical artifacts.

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Elegant wood-paneled office with bookshelves and seating area

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The Family Dining Room
The First Lady's Office
Carl Van Vechten Portraits
The Governor's Office

The Family Dining Room

The Family Dining Room features a fireplace designed by Robert Wellford and works by Mary Cassatt, both artists with ties to Pennsylvania.

Mary Cassatt

Four paintings by Mary Cassatt are displayed in the family dining room, including a portrait of Pennsylvania Railroad President, Alexander Cassatt and his son. Born in Allegheny, Mary Cassatt spent most of her life abroad and joined the French Impressionist movement. She often painted family, friends, and acquaintances she met during her travels.

Pastel Drawing of Woman Adjusting Garment

Pastel portrait sketch of woman with necklace

Seated adult and child reading together indoors

Young child in vintage navy sailor suit portrait

Classic marble fireplace with firewood and ornate mantel

Wellford mantelpiece

Robert Wellford designed this ornate wood and plaster mantelpiece that features three muses. His Philadelphia company was the nation's foremost ornamental plaster manufacturer in the early 1800s. The stone surround is Pennsylvania blue marble.

Four Cassatts
Wellford, mantelpiece

The First Lady's Office

The First Lady's Office serves as a work and meeting space. The photos, prints, and paintings in this room reflect her engagement with communities and the arts across Pennsylvania.

Antique wooden secretary desk in home office setting

Gov. Ritner's slant-top desk

The slant-top desk in the corner of the room belonged to Governor Joseph Ritner, who worked as a farmer before serving as a private in the War of 1812. Ritner was the 14th Governor of Pennsylvania and served from 1835 to 1839.

Two Framed Abstract Artworks on Wall Display

Keith Haring

Paintings by Kutztown-born Keith Haring hang at the office entrance. Haring's unique style of Pop Art was directly influenced by the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s.

Abstract portrait and colorful modern painting on wall

Them, Shihou Nije and Emerge, Morgan Overton

Among the Pittsburgh-based artists featured in the first lady’s office is Shihou Nije, whose batik-style work Them is on display.

Emerge by Pittsburgh-based artist Morgan Overton. Painted in the aftermath of George Floyd's killing in 2020, Emerge depicts a woman overcoming erasure.

Black and white portrait with inspirational t-shirt text

Shelby E. Wormley, I AM Somebody

I AM Somebody, created by artist Shelby E. Wormley, is part of a series dedicated to celebrating the people in her central Pennsylvania community.

Gov. Ritner's slant-top desk
Keith Haring
"Emerge," Morgan Overton
"I AM Somebody," Shelby E. Wormley

Carl Van Vechten Portraits

These portraits of famous Pennsylvanians were created by photographer Carl Van Vechten. A writer and art critic, Van Vechten promoted Black artists and writers through his work during the 1930s and 1940s.

Elderly man in suit outdoors near stone structure

Albert C. Barnes, 1940

Person holding crossed poles outdoors in grayscale photo

Joe Burk, 1940

Vintage portrait of man in formal suit attire

Alain Locke, 1941

Vintage portrait of person in striped shirt

Clifford Odets, 1937

Vintage portrait with large feathers and floral backdrop

Bessie Smith, 1936

Vintage portrait of woman in ornate uniform

Marian Anderson, 1940

Vintage portrait of woman in draped dress

Pearl Bailey, 1946

Vintage portrait of man in suit with patterned background

W.E.B. Du Bois, 1946

Vintage portrait of man in short-sleeve shirt and tie

Jacob Lawrence, 1941

Person with large dog wearing studded collar indoors

Billie Holiday, 1949

Monochrome portrait of two people near draped fabric

Paul Robeson and Eslanda Goode Robeson, 1933

Vintage portrait of man in formal suit and tie

William Gardner Smith, 1948

Sepia portrait of man playing violin indoors

Efrem Zimbalist, 1933

Vintage portrait of woman in elegant attire

Muriel Smith, 1944

Woman in vintage attire with floral hat and brooch

Ethel Waters, 1938

Man in suit seated beside floral wallpaper backdrop

James Stewart, 1934

Vintage portrait of seated woman with decor

Bertice Reading, 1959

Man in Suit Against Zebra Patterned Background

John Rhoden, 1937

Horace Pippin, 1940

Man in suit with vintage newspaper collage backdrop

Langston Hughes, 1930s

The Governor's Office

Originally known as the Governor's Library, the room has bookshelves that hold volumes related to Pennsylvania history and a selection of memorabilia collected by Governor Josh Shapiro.

Framed antique map displayed on wooden wall

1770 map of Pennsylvania

Above the fireplace is a 1770 map of Pennsylvania, commissioned by William Penn's sons to clarify the province's boundaries. William Scull, the cartographer, based the map on an earlier 1759 map, but expanded it to show Fort Pitt, the site of present-day Pittsburgh and the extensive frontier areas to the north and west.

Within this map, Scull identified early roads, towns, and county boundaries. He also included natural features such as streams and mountains. Foreshadowing the importance of natural resources within the Commonwealth, he identified the presence of coal at the headwaters of the Schuylkill River. This is the first map of Pennsylvania to show the Mason-Dixon line, the southern boundary of the state.

Bronze statue of historical traveler in wood-paneled room

Youthful Franklin statue

In 1914, Robert Tait McKenzie created this work as a study for the 8-foot-high Youthful Franklin statue installed outside Weightman Hall on the University of Pennsylvania campus. This statue is a rare portrayal of Franklin in the year 1723, when he first arrived in Philadelphia at the age of seventeen.

Franklin was one of Philadelphia's most famous residents in the 18th century renowned as a writer and publisher, scientist and inventor, statesman and diplomat. Franklin as a young man was a subject of particular interest to the artist -a professor of physical education. In this sculpture, McKenzie used the energetic gait of the teenage Franklin to symbolize ambition and inspire university students.

Reproduction of the 681 Charter (with accordion)
Youthful Franklin statue

The Family Dining Room and Offices