Since John Adams first took up residence there in 1800, the White House has been adorned with a relatively safe, traditional collection of art: pastoral landscapes by the likes of Frederick Childe Hassam, history paintings, and, of course, plenty of portraits of dead white men. But the Obamas have shaken it up, adding abstract and modern art to the mix, as the New York Times reports. Now, the White House art collection includes pieces by Mark Rothko, Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Hopper, Josef Albers, and Alma Thomas.
