The newly-inaugurated president pays tribute to numerous historical figures through his office decor.
On January 20th, Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States—and given that he wasted no time carrying out his presidential duties on Inauguration Day, it should come as no surprise that he already has a newly-redecorated Oval Office as his workspace. While the inauguration was underway, this historic room (and the rest of the White House) was treated to a makeover, with many furnishings being removed and replaced to suit the president’s vision for his new backdrop. After all, if there’s one thing many of us have learned from spending more time at home during the pandemic, it’s the importance of truly making a room your own.
The most noticeable—and telling—amendment made to the Oval Office at President Biden’s request is the plethora of artwork that pays tribute to those who came before him. This includes portraits of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton, and busts of Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., Daniel Webster, Cesar Chavez, and Robert F. Kennedy. This decorating choice reflects Biden’s admiration for and willingness to learn from history—after all, he double majored in history and political science as an undergraduate student at the University of Delaware.
