16x20” painting in his distinctive 26x30x2.5” deep elaborate high quality molded frame which features a narrow linen liner and 4.5” wide border with slightly antiqued gold wash consistent with the same framing on all of Williams’ presidential portraits. Both reverses of the painting and frame have black numeral “32” which is FDR’s number in the numerical order of presidents. Artist’s signature at lower right “Lawrence Williams.” Williams, who died in 2003, was considered a master portrait artist and was famous for portraits that caught the spirit of his subjects as well as their likeness. He was particularly known for his portraits of presidents and first ladies. In the fall of 1974, Williams became interested, with the approaching American Bi-Centennial celebration, in painting a series of oil portraits of the Presidents of the United States. These paintings were painted from official photographs Williams obtained from the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The 38 original oil portraits of the presidents by Williams were given to the Colorado Department of Education in 1977. After circulating throughout public schools across Colorado, the collection was placed on the third floor rotunda and unveiled as the Gallery of Presidents on Colorado Day, 1982. Over the years, Williams painted 2 additional sets of presidents and first ladies from Washington through Clinton. These are now in various museums and a very few came into the hands of private collectors such as this example from the Mark Furr F.D.R. Collection. At the bottom of the portrait is a small plaque that reads “Franklin Delano Roosevelt/March 4, 1933-April 12, 1945.” There are a couple of very minor surface rubs on the extreme tips of the frame but everything displays essentially Mint. A beautiful work by a master artist of our only four term President. Comes with Hake’s COA.