Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)Thirty-second President (1933-1945)
Modeled the year Franklin Roosevelt entered politics and a New York state legislator, this portrait was the work of Prince Paul Troubetzkoy. The son of a Russian diplomat, Troubetzkoy had been trained in Europe. Following an exhibition of his work in 1910, he attracted considerable patronagge in this country.
When Roosevelt's grandmother, Nelly Blodgett commissioned Troubetzkoy to make this likeness, the understanding was that the artist would produce a small, full-length statuette. But Troubetzkoy was so taken with with his prospective subject's bearing that he insisted that the portrait be nearly life-size. Troubetzkoy was not the only one to be impressed with Roosevelt's appearance. "With his handsome face and his form of supple strength," one reporter speculated in January 1911, Roosevelt "could make a fortune on the stage and set the matinee girl's heart throbbing with subtle and happy emotion."
Prince Paul Troubetzkoy (1866-1938)
Plaster, 1911
Lent by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum
L/NPG.2.82
Enlarged image