Title: Oil Portrait of Helen Herron Taft

Description: Energetic and informed politically, Mrs. Helen Taft took a keen interest in her husband’s career, eagerly moving to the Philippines when President Taft took charge of the government there in 1900. At the Taft White House, dinners on the terraces were common, and punch, cookies, cakes, and fruit were served at receptions. The Green Room was the Taft family’s favorite room to gather in during the evenings. Mrs. Taft hired a housekeeper, Elizabeth Jaffray, to manage the daily details of the White House, giving the first lady more time to entertain. Jaffray excelled at the position and was the White House housekeeper for seventeen years.

Date: 1910

Creator: Karl Bror Albert Kronstrand

Credit: White House Historical Association (White House Collection)