Bess Truman 1885–1982

Born Independence, Missouri
First Lady 1945–1953

Elizabeth “Bess” Virginia Wallace Truman was born into a prominent family in Independence, Missouri. As a teenager, she suffered greatly when her father died by suicide, and as a result she attempted to lead a private life as an adult. Yet she was always deeply involved in her husband Harry S. Truman’s political career, and she routinely helped him write his speeches. As first lady, Truman was instrumental in saving the White House from demolition and subsequently lobbied Congress for preservation of the mansion’s original walls inside a new steel frame.

This painting of Bess Truman by Martha Greta Kempton is the pendant to her husband’s official White House portrait. The Vienna-born artist painted at least three portraits of the first lady and seven of President Truman, one of which is in the National Portrait Gallery’s collection of presidential portraits.

The White House