Long into their nineties, the Carters had a memorable moment when their picture with Joe and Jill Biden made Rosalynn and Jimmy appear little, almost like dolls.
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- Amy, the daughter of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, claimed that the widely shared 2021 picture of her parents with Joe and Jill Biden made her entire family chuckle.
- The older couple appears diminutive and almost doll-like in the wide-angle lens photo, which was taken in a small room in the Carters’ Georgia home.
- As part of Christie’s American Collector series, the armchairs the Carters are seen sitting in will be put up for sale in the new year.
- Long into their 90s, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, continued to love each other and enjoy life.
Before Rosalynn passed away in November 2023 at the age of 96, the late president and first lady had been married for over 77 years, the longest in presidential history. Jimmy lived to be 100 years old and passed away a little more than a year later.
Following a visit from then-President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, in May 2021, the Carters unexpectedly became well-known in their last years.
A picture of the four was posted by the Carter Center, showing the Bidens posing next to the Carters in floral-print armchairs. However, the Carters looked diminutive, almost doll-like, compared to the Bidens because of the wide-angle lens, the confined space, and the overhead camera.
Amy Carter said of the meme-worthy incident, “That photo still makes me laugh,” to PEOPLE. “I think I can safely say everyone in the family enjoyed it.”
Amy, the only female and youngest of the Carters’ four children, recently offered her opinions on the chairs and other emotional objects belonging to her parents that will be up for sale in the new year.
In honor of the country’s 250th anniversary in 2026, she collaborated with the renowned auction house Christie’s to choose pieces from their estate to feature in the next American Collector Sale.
Amy still smiles at some of them, such as the now-famous armchairs.
“My parents could certainly appreciate the humor in something like that,” she said. “I recall my mother laughing as she told me of a time when my dad’s alarm clock was set wrong. He woke up, got dressed for the day, and sat down with a cup of coffee, only to discover it was two in the morning. She most likely found it slightly more humorous than he did.
“But yes, they could definitely laugh at themselves,” Amy continued.
Julia Jones, an associate specialist at Christie’s, told PEOPLE that in addition to goods with more emotive or historical meaning, it’s also important to locate “whimsical” items like the chairs.
“[It lends itself] to this larger frame of… Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter are ordinary individuals. Additionally, they can occasionally appear like tiny dolls due to wide-angle lenses,” she remarked. “It was something that came about just very naturally and with a laugh.”
A handwritten birthday note from Jimmy to Rosalynn on White House stationery is one of the most sentimental pieces. It says, “To Rosalynn, it’s nice to be growing old together with you,” and is dated August 18, 1978. P.S. “Happy birthday!”
The straightforward yet heartfelt email, according to Amy, was “definitely typical” of her parents’ bond.
“Throughout her life, my mother held onto my dad’s love letters. When she passed away, they were in her office, next to her chair. She said, “He never stopped leaving her notes.” “They spoke every day, no matter where they were in the world.”
“My favorite is the one where my dad said he would never rush her again when they were running late as a holiday present. In order to give her something to pull out in the event that he broke his word, he etched it on a piece of wood.”
Giving away some of her parents’ possessions through the auction, which is scheduled to take place from January 13 to January 27, 2026, makes the former first daughter happy rather than sad.
“I like the idea of sharing my parents’ legacy and memory,” she stated. “I was incredibly lucky to have had such a long time with both of them, and there are so many personal things in my house and in my brothers’ houses that remind us of them every day.”
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The Carters’ collection, the first in Christie’s American Collector series, was assembled with the intention of being a “diplomatic sale,” with online bidding and items starting at under $100, Jones told PEOPLE.
“How much more Americana can you get than Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter?” she asked. “It’s amazing to be honored with this collection and offer it at market.”
