The Very Image of a President

Here are my favourite images of President Obama's 100 Days. They catch him in a range of situations from very formal to very intimate. And I haven't necessarily put them in chronological order.

Once more I have to thank my source, The Guardian website.




15 March: Obama runs with Bo, the Obama family's dog, down a hallway of the White House. Bo made his official debut on 14 April. Photograph: Pete Souza/AP



22 February: Obama and first lady Michelle enter the east room to hear Earth Wind and Fire perform at the governors' dinner at the White House. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters




20 January: Obama and first lady Michelle, with staff and secret service agents, ride a freight elevator to get to an inaugural ball in Washington Photograph: Pete Souza /EPA




1 April: Obama looks over his shoulder as secretary of state Hillary Clinton walks in on the president's meeting with Chinese leader Hu Jintao at Winfield House Photograph: Jason Reed /Reuters




20 March: Obama meets Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's governor, at the White House
Photograph: Jim Young /Reuters



27 February: President Obama, sitting next to five-year-old Nick Aiello, sips a beer during the Washington Wizards NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls Photograph: Molly Riley/Reuters




3 April: Barack and Michelle Obama meet French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in Strasbourg Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA



1 April: Michelle Obama puts her arm around the Queen during a reception for G20 leaders at Buckingham Palace Photograph: Reuters



1 April: Obama meets Gordon Brown ahead of the G20 summit
Photograph: Charlie Bibby/Financial Times/NPA Pool



1 April: Obama shakes hands with a police officer outside 10 Downing Street Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters




1 April: A television presenter carries an Obama cut-out before the president's arrival at a Nato summit in Baden-Baden, Germany Photograph: Federico Gambarini/EPA




14 April: Obama runs with his family and and their new dog, Bo, a six-month-old Portuguese water dog, on the south lawn of the White House Photograph: Jim Young/Reuters




7 April: Obama tours the Blue Mosque in Istanbul Photograph: Jim Young /Reuters



20 January: In a holding room at the Capitol in Washington Barack H Obama has a moment alone to gather his thoughts before he is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts as the 44th president of the United States
Photograph: Charles Ommanney/Getty Images



Image Top: 24 March: Obama leaves the east room of the White House after a primetime press conference Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

All The Presidents' Dogs

The Guardian website is fantastic! I've raided it again for archive pictures of Bo the Portuguese Water puppy's predogcessors..



The Obama family meet Bo at The White House



President Herbert Hoover with the First Lady and their dogs 1932. Photo: AP


President Franklin D Roosevelt and Eleanor with Meggie 1933. Photo: AP



President Lyndon B Johnson holds Her by the ears watched by his other dog Him 1964. This picture famously engendered criticism from dog lovers. They probably objected to the names as well? Photo: Charles P Gorry/AP



President Richard Nixon in 1970 with L to R Irish setter King Timahoe, Yorkshire terrier Pasha and French poodle Vicky. Photo: Pictorial Parade/Getty



President Gerald Ford and his daughter Susan with their golden retriever in 1974.
Photo: John Duricka/AP



President Ronald Reagan and Nancy with Lucky 1985. Photo: Ron Edmonds/AP



Vice-president George Bush with Barbara holding the family dog in 1988.
Photo: J Scott Applewhite/AP



President Bill Clinton giving his dog Buddy a kiss in 1998.
Photo: Paul J Richards/AFP/Getty Images



President George W Bush and Laura with their telegenic pets Barney and Miss Beazley 2006.
Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP




Top: The Obama family's long awaited six-month old Portuguese Water Dog, a gift from Senator Edward Kennedy. Photo: Pete Souza/The White House

President Obama Stayed Here - Winfield House

One of the two principal guest suites is named after John Adams, second President of the United States. It overlooks the gardens.



Earlier this week President and Mrs Obama arrived for London's G 20 Summit. They stayed at Winfield House in Regents Park, the official residence of the US Ambassador. These images are taken from the handsome book Winfield House conceived by Maria Tuttle (wife of the then Ambassador Robert Tuttle) who contributed to the text with Marcus Binney.



The reception hall has regency furniture upholstered in the most unusual terracotta silk and the white cushions are padded with matching tassels. That's a portrait of Thomas Jefferson.
On the end walls two Mark Rothkos sit comfortably and subtly in this traditional context.



The main wrought-iron staircase was introduced by Ambassador and Mrs. Annenberg in 1969. The Empire chandelier was a gift from them. The walls bear Ellsworth Kelly's Red-Orange (1980) and Franz Kline's Black and White (1957) loaned by MOCA in Los Angeles.



The Yellow Room panelled 18th C style




In the Yellow Room a tulipwood marquetry commode in French transitional style. The satin drawer liners with silk rosettes and ribbon trim are believed to have been made for Barbara Hutton.


The State Dining Room



The Green Room as redecorated by William Haines for Ambassador and Mrs Annenberg.
It is hung with a late 18th C hand-painted Chinese wallpaper formerly at Townley Hall in Ireland. Above the fireplace hangs a Willem de Kooning - a bold placement which I think looks stunning.


Wallpaper detail

The eight waxed pine pelmet boards were designed by William Haines. This room opens onto the garden on two sides. The images here don't do justice to the book which has a massive four-page view of this room.



A portrait of Barbara Hutton by Russian painter Savely Sorine (1940). Winfield House was built for the glamorous heiress in 1936/37 but two years later with her marriage to Count Reventlow ending and war looming, she closed the house and returned to America. She was to marry Cary Grant in 1942. During World War II Winfield House was put to utilitarian use by the Air Ministry and a balloon barrage unit was located there for a time. On December 1, 1945 Hutton wrote to President Harry S Truman offering Winfield House to the American government and it was accepted as a home for the American ambassador to Britain. When Walter Annenberg was appointed in 1969, he and wife funded an extensive renovation and redecoration. Other ambassadors have made their own contributions.



An additional guest room decorated in the late 18th C Directoire style. The panelling is painted with ivy and red berries and garlands of pink roses



This was the Tuttle's private room and Maria was always generous in opening it and other principal bedrooms for her guests to see. You would go upstairs and if the doors were open you could peep inside. I fell in love with the ice blue chaise longue. Below is another view.





The Ambassador's wife's study(and below). Each brings her personal elements to the decoration of the room.









The house as it is today. The gardens are gorgeous and provide all the flowers and vegetables for its busy schedule of entertaining.

I have been reading Winfield House Text by Maria Tuttle and Marcus Binney; Photographs by James Mortimer pub. Thames & Hudson London 2008