A book published this month by the White House Historical Association, How to Draw the Presidents, offers step-by-step instructions for, yes, how to sketch every Prez. We asked the author, illustrator John Hutton, to walk us through the finer points of Chester A. Arthur’s visage.
![Prez.Step1 - Washingtonian Step 1. Illustrations Courtesy of White House Historical Association.](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Prez.Step1_.jpg)
Hutton suggests starting with the eyes, which are about halfway between the center and the top, then working your way down.
![prez.step2 - Washingtonian Step 2. Illustrations Courtesy of White House Historical Association.](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/prez.step2_.jpg)
Now for the fuzz. Arthur’s chin is just a flat W, but the sideburns—which Hutton calls “amazing things”—need more care.
![prez.step3 - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/prez.step4_.jpg)
Arthur’s clothes perhaps require actual art skills. But fear not: If things get too hard, Hutton says just to trace.
This article appears in the September 2019 issue of Washingtonian.