• The White House wants to display fan art of President Donald Trump at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
• The president has been trying to control the narrative around American history as presented by museums at the Smithsonian.
• The NPG, which already removed details about Trump’s impeachments from its wall labels, won’t say if it plans to put additional depictions of him on view. 

President Donald Trump is reportedly angling for his own dedicated display, essentially featuring Trump fan art, at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Administration officials suggested installing a selection of portraits of Trump created by his supporters and sent to the White House following a December tour of the museum for Trump officials. Those present included Abby Jones, the acting chief of protocol at the State Department, and official White House photographer Daniel Torok.

“President Trump receives an unprecedented amount of beautiful artwork from patriotic Americans all across our great country, and it is important to the people’s president that their creations are showcased throughout the halls of our nation’s capital,” the White House told the New York Times, which first reported the story.

Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, home to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery of the Archives of American Art in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian.

While there are multiple depictions of some presidents on view in the museum, this honor has typically been reserved for leaders who have already left office. The NPG typically displays a photograph of the sitting president, then commissions a painted portrait upon the end of their term. Trump’s portrait from his first term, by the late Ronald Sherr, has yet to be unveiled.

Trump has put significant pressure on the Smithsonian over the last year. In April, he issued an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” It claimed that the Smithsonian needed to be purged of “improper ideology”—a.k.a anything that focused on negative aspects of U.S. history such as slavery or discrimination against minorities and women, or acknowledged the existence of the trans community. (Jones is reportedly assisting Trump in his efforts to bend the Smithsonian to his will.)

At the end of May, Trump announced on social media that he was firing the NPG’s director, Kim Sajet, accusing her of partisanship and bias against him. (She ultimately agreed to resign, even though Trump is not in charge of Smithsonian staffing.) Among his list of grievances, as provided to the New York Times, was the label for his portrait on display at the museum. Much like the wall text for former presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, it mentioned his impeachment.

This portrait of Donald Trump just went on view at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Photo by Daniel Torok for the White House.

Last month, the NPG swapped out Trump’s portrait by Matt McClain in the museum’s “America’s Presidents” exhibition, putting up a new photograph, by Torok. (According to the Times, this was based on Trump’s preference.) With the change, the institution switched to what is known as a “tombstone label,” with only the work’s title and artist. The other presidents’ portraits all include biographical details and information about major events during their terms.

Trump has also insisted that the Smithsonian submit detailed information about its exhibitions and programming, and has threatened to withhold federal funding for the museums if it does not comply with his demands.

The National Portrait Gallery declined to comment for this story.