SUMMARY
The earliest surviving photograph of a U.S. President is a daguerreotype of John Quincy Adams, taken in March 1843 by Philip Haas. This original plate, which sold for $360,500 in 2017, is the only known first-generation image of Adams. For decades, the widely circulated image of Adams was a later copy made by rephotographing the original. William Henry Harrison holds the distinction of being the first president photographed, likely in early 1841, but the daguerreotype from that sitting has been lost to history. The commonly seen image of Harrison is actually a daguerreotype of an earlier oil portrait.
TAKEAWAYS
The earliest surviving presidential photo is of John Quincy Adams (1843), which sold for $360,500.
Adams was photographed while serving as a congressman, years after his presidency.
William Henry Harrison was the first president to be photographed, but his image is lost.
The common image of Harrison is a copy of an oil painting, not the original daguerreotype.