Clinton, center, with the Bush presidents flanking him in the National Portrait Gallery. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

A walk through the America’s Presidents exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., is depressing.

One would think it would be inspiring. Shouldn’t these men, and they are all men, be people we look up to? Be people to be admired? Revered, even?

I was there days before the latest president was inaugurated. There’s a photo of him because his official painting has not been created; same goes for Biden.

John F. Kennedy’s painting breaks with the standard of his predecessors. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

I was left wondering what our country would be like if there were more than one portrait of a person of color. What would our country be like if a woman had (or currently were) president? What would it be like if we showed FDR in a wheelchair?

We finally got over the Catholic thing being an issue. What if we had a non-believer? A Jewish person? A Muslim?

If there is never another white man as president in my lifetime, I’ll be OK with that.

Up until the Kennedy painting presidential portraits were mostly the same. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

A museum brochure says, “The National Portrait Gallery is the only place outside the White House that holds portraits of all the U.S. presidents. The museum provides visitors with opportunities to explore the lives of those who have held the country’s highest office while assessing their legacies.”

The gallery opened in 1968. While it is much more than presidents and first ladies, on this particular day I didn’t explore beyond the presidents.

A group of schoolchildren was seated before George Washington’s portrait. As the first president of the United States he is appropriately at the start of the exhibit. A docent asked about the storm clouds in one part of the painting, and a rainbow in the other.

Kudos from the docent went to the child for acknowledging they could represent the ongoing struggles and the hope for brighter days.

Maybe I should embrace that young girl’s belief.

Norman Rockwell deliberately painted Richard Nixon in a flattering pose. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

As the group caught up to me, it was pointed out starting with JFK paintings became more contemporary, more artistic and less staid.

A black drape like a shroud was on the top of Carter’s frame as the country was still in a state of mourning after his passing.

The description of Nixon was one of the few I read in full because the painting caught me off guard—the man looked friendly.

It says, “In 1968, Look magazine hired Norman Rockwell to portray the newly elected president. Admitting that Nixon’s appearance was troublesomely elusive, Rockwell chose to intentionally flatter him. If he was going to err in his portrayal, he said, he wanted it to be in the direction that would please his subject.”