This collection is designed to support the exhibition "Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States" at the National Portrait Gallery. “Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States,” is the first major exhibition to explore the historical significance of this prominent position through the mode of portraiture. The exhibition spans nearly 250 years, from Martha Washington to Melania Trump, and features more than 60 portraits of the First Ladies, alongside related ephemera including iconic dresses. On view Nov. 13 through May 23, 2021, the exhibition is curated by Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, the National Portrait Gallery’s senior historian and director of history, research, and scholarly programs.

The exhibition’s title references a quote from an 1844 letter written by Julia Gardiner Tyler to her mother after she married President John Tyler. The Portrait Gallery’s presentation uses Tyler’s quote as a point of departure to examine the responsibilities and significance First Ladies have had since 1789, when Martha Washington became the first woman to fill the role. The exhibition highlights the women who entered the White House through marriage alongside others who were relatives or family friends recruited into service such as Dolley Madison, who served as White House hostess for Thomas Jefferson before James Madison.