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

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

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 124.8 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:38:44 into the tape and ends around 02:40:51.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
2:38:44Well, of course, he did that from a photograph.
2:38:46But don't you think that's excellent?
2:38:50Well, I think it is.
2:38:54I mean, that's good.
2:38:59I like it.
2:38:59I also like that foot you were making in the dining room.
2:39:01And that was done for pictures.
2:39:03That was good.
2:39:04One thing I was going to say is that I don't think this picture of Eisenhower in the cabinet room is much good.
2:39:11It really isn't one of the better ones.
2:39:14I think the one they had down there at the Kennedy Center is definitely better.
2:39:21And I would like to get that one.
2:39:23I'm here to get this change.
2:39:25In other words, it has more light.
2:39:27I have more light.
2:39:28Maybe the fire is going to come on.
2:39:32Boy, I can't do that.
2:39:33I don't like this.
2:39:37I'm stupid.
2:39:49I don't care for this one either.
2:39:51It's bland.
2:39:53I don't like anything that takes all my character out of a person's face.
2:39:58I don't like pictures.
2:40:02I like movie pictures where they take every character line out of a person's face.
2:40:37Do you see a ghost on the floor now?
2:40:39Is that a ghost?

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]

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 · 10 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 · 32 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 93 conversations from October 19, 1971 →

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 October 23, 2026).