Smithsonian American Art Museum
Harriet Lane Johnston
John Henry Brown, born Lancaster, PA 1818-died Philadelphia, PA 1891 · 1878
Harriet Lane Johnston (1830-1903) was President James Buchanan’s niece and ward, and served as hostess of the White House during Buchanan’s administration. Orphaned at age eleven, she was raised by her uncle, but came into her own as a strong presence in the White House. In 1903 she earned the affectionate nickname “First Lady of the National Collection of Fine Arts” when she gave her art collection to the “national art gallery,” which Congress decided should be part of the Smithsonian Institution.
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