| Detail of the Unfinished Portrait | |
| Artist | Elizabeth Shoumatoff |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
The Unfinished Portrait is a watercolor of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that was in progress at the time of his collapse and subsequent death. Elizabeth Shoumatoff had begun working on the portrait of the president around noon on April 12, 1945. FDR was being served lunch when he said "I have a terrific pain in the back of my head." He then slumped forward in his chair, unconscious, and was carried into his bedroom. The president's attending cardiologist, Dr. Howard Bruenn, diagnosed a massive cerebral hemorrhage (stroke). At 3:35 p.m. that day, Roosevelt died. Shoumatoff never finished the portrait.
The Unfinished Portrait hangs at Roosevelt's former health and relaxation retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia, known as the Little White House.[1]
Later, Shoumatoff decided to finish the portrait in FDR's memory. She painted a new painting based on memory. One difference is that the tie that was red in the original is now blue in the finished painting. All other aspects are completely identical. The finished portrait now resides in the Legacy Exhibit beside the original at the Little White House Historic Site in Warm Springs, Georgia.