See how presidents' official White House portraits have changed over the last 100 years

Mon, 02/16/2026 - 09:02

Tech Insider

Donald Trump's new White House portrait.
Official White House photo by Daniel Torok

The White House released a new official portrait of President Donald Trump in June.
The dramatically lit photo shows Trump against a dark backdrop with a serious expression.
Unlike most contemporary presidential portraits, the background doesn't include an American flag.

President Donald Trump's official White House portrait does not feature an American flag in the background — it's the first presidential photo in over 60 years without one.

Taken by chief White House photographer Daniel Torok, the dramatically lit photo shows Trump against a dark backdrop with a serious expression. The style hearkens back to the past presidential portrait styles of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, and Calvin Coolidge, who also appeared unsmiling against dark backgrounds.

And while there is no flag behind Trump in his new portrait, he is wearing an American flag pin on the lapel of his blue suit, a tradition that began with President George W. Bush's photo.

A portrait of Trump released earlier last year, which did feature an American flag, was taken during the presidential transition period and "was always meant to serve as a placeholder," a White House official told Business Insider.

The new photo is one of several aesthetic changes Trump has made to the White House in his second non-consecutive term. In the Entrance Hall, he moved President Barack Obama's painted White House portrait across the hall and replaced it with a painting depicting his raised fist following an assassination attempt. He has also added numerous gilded gold furnishings to the Oval Office and paved over the lawn in the Rose Garden to create a terrace he said would be better suited for large events.

Take a look at how presidential portraits have changed through the years.

President Calvin Coolidge, 1923