Cherry Blossom Viewing Time

Oliver T. Carr, Jr., Chairman of the Oliver Carr Company and managing member of Willard Associates, has commissioned two pieces of artwork in honor of Willard Hotel’s significance to the history ofAmerican-Japanese relations. The two nations signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1858, and in 1860 a delegation of three Japanese samurai ambassadors traveled to the U.S. to exchange the treaty’s instruments of ratification with the U.S. State Department. The delegation lodged at the Willard Hotel during this historic visit.

The paintings celebrate Tokyo’s gift of the Cherry Blossom trees to the United States in 1912, and are representative of cultural exchange and friendship between America and Japan.

Honoring the Life of President Lincoln

Two new portraits of President Abraham Lincoln and his family are being unveiled at a Washington hotel ahead of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination. The Willard InterContinental Hotel plans to unveil the two new portraits by artist John Gable. One depicts Mary Lincoln and eldest son Robert Lincoln. The other portrait features President Lincoln and sons Willie and Tad. The hotel is starting a partnership with Ford’s Theatre and the Newseum to mark the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s death.

Alice Roosevelt

This piece by artist John Gable depicts Alice Roosevelt Longworth, an American writer and prominent socialite who once stayed at the Willard. The oldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, Longworth is depicted here christening a new schooner called the Meteor in 1902.