Dolley Madison, by Rembrandt Peale The “presidentress” of the Madison administration sat for this portrait in 1817 when she was close to fifty and just exiting from the White House. She wears a fashionable satin empire waist dress featuring a low-cut bodice and flowing gown that dropped from the high waistline straight to the ground. Mrs. Madison was noted for her unusual turbans and her unfailing good cheer, as her impish smile conveys.

Corbis.