Starting this month, with the appointment of Joe Biden as President of the United States, his wife Jill Biden will follow in the footsteps of remarkable women who, for centuries, have shaped the complex and often controversial role of First Lady. Too often forgotten, they are given center stage in the exhibition All Eyes on Me:America's First Ladies , at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. From Martha Washington to Eleanor Roosevelt to Michelle Obama, the show pays tribute to women who have used their unique position to influence political and social discourse in countless ways. Each of the portraits, in addition to evolving according to the trends of the moment, shows the image that the protagonist transmits. For example, Martha Washington, as the first wife of a US president, had no precedent to follow, and she was inspired by European models, when they were British colonial subjects. In fact, the title of First Lady did not begin to be used until the end of the 19th century. When Martha Washington appeared in public, people called her Lady Washington because it was the language they had inherited to refer to a woman of her stature. Instead, Michelle Obama, aware of the cultural and historical importance of her husband being the first African-American president and her first lady, chose a black artist to paint her portrait.
Martha Washington (1789-1797)
Abigail Adams (1797-1801)
Martha Jefferson (1801-1809)
Louisa Adams (1825-1829). The first born outside the US, specifically in London. Her husband's opponents used her being British to "brand" her as an enemy, but she turned her house into the center of social life for the city's diplomats and politicians. She is told that her tea parties helped Quincy Adams win the presidency. 
Julia Tyler (1844-1845)
Mary Lincoln (1861-1865)
Julia Grant (1869-1877)
Lucy Hayes (1877-1881)
Frances Cleveland (1886-1889, 1893-1897). No other first lady had been a celebrity before her. She became an icon, women copied her clothes and her image was used in countless advertisements without permission or compensation. And when Grover Cleveland was re-elected in 1892 for a second non-consecutive term, she was first lady for the second time. Both events were unprecedented.
Helen Taft (1909-1913)
Grace Coolidge (1923-1929)
Eleanor Roosevelt (1933-1945). She is credited with the phrase:"Remember that no one can make you feel inferior without your permission." Because of her role as a delegate of the United States in the United Nations General Assembly from 1945 to 1952, she was called the "First Lady of the World"
Mamie Eisenhower (1953-1961)
Jackie Kennedy (1961-1963)
Pat Nixon (1969-1974)
Rosalynn Carter (1977-1981)
Nancy Reagan (1981-1989)
Barbara Bush (1989-1993)
Hillary Clinton(1993-2001)
Michelle Obama (2009-2017)
And after Melania Trump (the second in history born outside the US), what image and what values does Jill Biden want to convey in her portrait?
Jill Biden
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I have chosen some of the most representative, but you can find all the portraits and a short biography of each of them at the sample link All eyes on me:first ladies of the United States .