President Franklin D. Roosevelt, himself an avid philatelist, took a strong interest in stamps as a means to communicate. He had a close working relationship with the Postmaster General James A. Farley, and contributed several design ideas for stamps issued during his time in office (1933-1945).
Among these was Roosevelt's suggestion that "Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1," the iconic painting by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, be used as the basis for a stamp commemorating Mother's Day. Also known as "Portrait of the Artist's Mother," or simply, "Whistler's Mother," the subject of the painting was prominently featured on a 3-cent stamp that was issued in 1934, just 20 years after Mother's Day became an official national holiday.
Though a seemingly faithful representation, the stamp drew criticism both for the manner in which the painting was cropped and for the addition of a vase of flowers. The American Artists Professional League went so far as to telegram the Postmaster General, stating the stamp was "a mutilation of the artist's original picture, robbing it of much of its charm." The painting is currently held by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and today's viewers can make their own aesthetic judgement.
More of Roosevelt's stamp designs can be seen as part of the National Postal Museum's online exhibition, Delivering Hope: FDR & Stamps of the Great Depression.
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