Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 124 › Conversation 124-004

White House tour group on White House and Cabinet Room

Tuesday, May 29, 1973 · 12:05 PM–8:38 AM ET · Cabinet Room · 2 min

ParticipantsWhite House tour groupConversation124-004 on Tape 124StartTuesday, May 29, 1973 at 12:05 PMEndTuesday, June 5, 1973 at 8:38 AMRecording deviceCabinet RoomSourceNixon Library record for 124-004 ↗

AI Summary

A White House tour group gathered in the Cabinet Room to view and discuss the historical portraits displayed in the space. The group examined paintings of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, focusing specifically on the contrasting depictions of Wilson across different stages of his presidency. The conversation centered on the artistic history and the evolving physical appearance of the former presidents.

  • White House
  • Cabinet Room
  • Art history
  • Woodrow Wilson
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • Theodore Roosevelt
  • Presidential portraits

Audio

Download MP3 · 3.8 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Thomas Keaton's portrait of President Eisenhower.
Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
I think the Wilson portrait is very interesting if you compare it to one
This was painted in 1913.
Wilson first became president, of course, in this portrait.
He was young and vigorous, and we see the portrait was painted six years later in 1919, when he still was in orbit.
It was not sent.
It was painted in Paris when President Wilson was 16 years, he's age 25.
He's an old man.
And of course, the reason the portrait was never completed was that it would take
self-esteem failure, return to the standard, and campaigned around the country, trying to get along, supporting the lead, and the rest of the struggle.
That is the incredible comparison.
Thank you.

NARA Description

a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 12:05 pm on May 29, 1973 and 8:38 am on June 5, 1973. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 124-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 124-4

Date: Unknown between May 29 and June 5, 1973
Time: Unknown between 12:05 pm, May 29 and 8:38 am, June 5, 1973
Location: Cabinet Room

Unknown people [tour group] met

[Recording begins while the conversation is in progress]

     Furniture
          -Portraits
                -Dwight D. Eisenhower
                     -Thomas Keaton [?], artist
                -Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt
                -[Thomas] Woodrow Wilson
                     -Compared with portrait in East Wing corridor
                     -Sir William Orpen, artist

******************************************************************************

[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 01/04/2018.]
[Unintelligible]
[124-004-w001]
[Duration: 26s]

     General conversation

******************************************************************************

The unknown people [tour group] left at an unknown time before 8:38 am, June 5, 1973

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All 45 conversations from May 29, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 124-004, May 29, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/124-004 (accessed October 17, 2026).