The Picture of Bipartisan Camaraderie

"There's one over in the Cabinet Room by a man named [Philip Alexius de] Laszlo of Theodore Roosevelt," Clinton said. "I used to look at it all the time when I felt bad and I worried, 'Was the war in Bosnia going to come out all right? Would the Kosovar refugees ever be able to go home?' Because if you look at that picture, Theodore Roosevelt, who was known as our most macho, bully, self-confident president, you look at that picture and you see here's a human being who's scared to death and not sure it's going to come out all right. And he does the right thing, anyway."

Clinton's portrait is so much larger than those of his recent predecessors that the canvas barely fits in its spot of honor. And while most presidential portraits typically have a neutral background like fabric or a landscape, Clinton had a very specific idea for the setting when he met with the artist, Simmie Knox of Silver Spring, for the first time.

"That was what he specifically told me: 'I would like my portrait to appear as if it was taking place in the Oval Office,' " Knox recalled. And so it does, with Clinton wearing a dark blue suit and light blue tie as he stands before his desk, flanked by the American and presidential flags.

The portrait of George H.W. Bush has been facing that of John F. Kennedy across the entrance hall from the North Portico; JFK will now go outside the State Dining Room. Now the elder Bush will face Clinton, whose canvas measures 56 inches by 44 inches, compared to 50 by 40 inches for Bush and Ronald Reagan.

"You know, most of the time, until you get your picture hung like this, the only artists to draw you are cartoonists," Clinton said, recounting the baby carriage, pickup truck and other unflattering accessories that so often accompanied his likeness.

Knox, a 68-year-old son of sharecroppers, is the first African American to paint an official presidential portrait. Clinton said Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recommended him to Hillary Clinton. Knox met with Clinton a month before he left the White House, and finished in 2002. Mrs. Clinton saw it, then asked him to also paint hers. The former first lady's portrait shows her in a black pantsuit, in her Washington residence with her book "It Takes a Village."

In her remarks, Hillary Clinton complimented Knox for his forbearance during their sittings. "One thing that has never been said about either my husband or I -- nearly everything else has -- but one thing that hasn't is that we are patient people," she said. "Those of you who know us, know that's not at all descriptive."

Their daughter, Chelsea, sat in the front row. The audience was filled with ex-aides helping Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). "Everyone loves everyone equally today," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Terence R. McAuliffe. Weary of all the bipartisanship, he added: "We'll be back soon."