Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 596 › Conversation 596-016

Nixon & Mitchell on White House decor and Portraiture

Tuesday, October 19, 1971 · 12:54 PM–12:56 PM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.Conversation596-016 on Tape 596 (tape position 02:38:44–02:40:51)StartTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 12:54 PMEndTuesday, October 19, 1971 at 12:56 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 596-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Mitchell engage in a brief, informal discussion focused on the aesthetics of portraiture displayed within the White House. The conversation centers on the President's critique of specific photographs and paintings, particularly his dissatisfaction with a bland portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower currently in the Cabinet Room. Nixon expresses a clear preference for portraits that preserve facial character and requests that the current depiction be replaced with a better-lit version seen at the Kennedy Center.

White House decor
Portraiture
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Aesthetics
Presidential preferences

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

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Position in tape: 02:38:44 – 02:40:51

part B, 38:51

596a.mp3

596b.mp3

NARA Description

On October 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:54 pm to 12:56 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 596-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 596-16

Date: October 19, 1971
Time: 12:54 pm - 12:56 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with John N. Mitchell.

[See Conversation No. 11-131]

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Well, of course, he did that from a photograph.

But don't you think that's excellent?

Well, I see that.

I mean, that's good.

I like it.

I also like that foot you were making in the dining room.

And that was done for pictures.

That was good.

One thing I was going to say is that I don't think this picture of Eisenhower in the cabinet room is much good.

It really isn't one of the better ones.

I think the one they had down there at the Kennedy Center is much better.

And I would like to get that one.

I'm here to get this change.

In other words, it has more light.

I have more light.

Maybe the virus can make one.

What can I do?

I don't like this.

I don't care for this one either.

It's bland.

I don't like anything that takes all my character out of a person's face.

I don't like pictures.

I like movie pictures where they take every character line out of a person's face.

If you see a ghost or anything, call me now.

Is that okay with you?

Also recorded on October 19, 1971

011-128 12:42 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard H. Poff talked on the telephone from 12:42 pm to 12:43 pm.
011-129 12:45 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 12:45 pm to 12:46 pm.
011-130 12:46 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:46 pm and 12:54 pm.
596-014 12:53 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:53 pm.
596-015 12:53 PM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:53 pm and 12:54 pm.
011-131 12:54 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 12:54 pm to 12:56 pm.
011-132 12:54 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:54 pm and 1:26 pm.
596-017 12:56 PM · 31 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:56 pm to 1:26 pm.

All 95 conversations from October 19, 1971 →

White House tour group on White House and Cabinet Room May 29, 1973 · 2 min
Nixon phone call with Colson on 1972 Presidential Election and George McGovern June 25, 1972 · 6 min
Nixon, Kendall & Haldeman on Dwight D. Eisenhower and Eulogies August 11, 1972 · 5 min
Nixon phone call with Bull on Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower December 30, 1972 · 2 min
Nixon & Arends on Watergate and Special Prosecutor May 1, 1973 · 2 min
Nixon & Haldeman on Washington National Airport and Dwight D. Eisenhower April 26, 1971 · 1 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 596-016, October 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/596-016 (accessed November 4, 2026).