Morris Katz was a world-renowned celebrity artist who arrived on American shores as a refugee after enduring the horrors of the Holocaust. The Presidential Collection was Morris’s most prized private collection – his way of showing gratitude to the great nation that welcomed him with open arms.
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second us president
John Adams
Mar 4, 1797 – Mar 4, 1801
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third us president
Thomas Jefferson
Mar 4, 1801 – Mar 4, 1809
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sixth us president
John Quincy Adams
Mar 4, 1825 – Mar 4, 1829
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sixteenth u.s. president
Abraham Lincoln
Mar 4, 1861 – Apr 15, 1865
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twenty fifth u.s. president
William McKinley
Mar 4, 1893 – Mar 4, 1897
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twenty sixth u.s. president
Theodore Roosevelt
Mar 4, 1897 – Sep 14, 1901
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twenty eighth u.s. president
Woodrow Wilson
Mar 4, 1909 – Mar 4, 1913
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thirty fifth u.s. president
John F. Kennedy
Jan 20, 1961 – Nov 22, 1963
The Presidential Collection
Morris was inspired to create the Presidential Collection following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He saw this as the best way to express his patriotism and gratitude to USA for welcoming him as a Holocaust refugee.
The Presidential Collection was Morris’s most prized artwork. He spent six years painting it, with meticulous attention to detail. It is the first presidential portrait collection where the number of stars in each flag correspond to the number of states/colonies at the time.
