Emily Donelson 1807–1836

Born Nashville, Tennessee First Lady 1829–1834

After her uncle Andrew Jackson’s presidential inauguration, there was never any question that Emily Donelson would serve as White House hostess in place of her recently deceased aunt, Rachel Jackson. Once in Washington, D.C., Donelson relished positive attention from the city’s “cave dwellers,” the name given to the exclusive upper echelon of Washington society, who remained in place as the occupants of the White House changed. She quickly immersed herself in the capital city’s social milieu and became one of its most admired hostesses.

The American artist Ralph E. W. Earl trained in London and Paris before returning to the United States and becoming the “court painter” to Andrew Jackson. Earl completed numerous portraits of members of the Jackson family, both before and after their move to Washington, D.C. His ability to paint in radically different styles is made clear when one compares his portrait of Donelson with that of Rachel Jackson.

Andrew Jackson Foundation