Eighty-five years ago, Charles A. Loeser, an American living abroad, gave the White House eight Cézanne paintings, a bequest that would have been the envy of any museum in the world.

Loeser donated the six landscapes and two still lifes "to the President of the United States of America and his successors in office for the adornment of the White House" and required that the paintings be displayed together, as an ensemble.

Yet only two of the eight — the two that Kennedy ignored — have spent a significant amount of time inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. At least one has never hung there.

The White House's art collection is mostly American-themed art, including fine works by Gilbert Stuart, Jean-Antoine Houdon and John Singer Sargent. The presence of the French masterpieces is little known, even among experts.

Asked recently about them, Paul Schimmel, former museum curator and member of the presidentially appointed Committee for the Preservation of the White House, responded: "What Cézannes?"

There may be another reason for the White House to be a bit quiet about the Cezannes.

 The Skull or Crane - Rewald 565 was bought by Loeser from Ambroise Vollard.  The short comment in the catalogue says:  

 "The colours of this picture, especially the blue-purple curtain behind the skull, as well as the dry execution are very unlike those of any other work by Cezanne.  There exists a watercolour of the same subject, RWC No 231, of about 1885, and one may wonder whether it was not used by another artist for this oil."