Smithsonian American Art Museum

Prior to our trip to London, the portrait gallery would not have been on my radar. But I so much enjoyed the one there, that I was eager to see this one. Kevin hadn't even heard of this museum, so he was game to join us. 

Thomas Alva Edison  1847-1931

by Abraham Archibald Anderson 1847-1940

Of course, I've known that Thomas Edison was the inventor of the lightbulb, but I didn't know he also invented the phonograph and the early motion picture camera. His inventions were the highlight of the Universal Exposition of 1889 where this portrait was done. The wax cylinders on the table were used for recordings for the phonograph.

Benjamin Franklin  1706-1790

by Joseph Siffred Duplessis  1725-1802

During his time, Benjamin Franklin was the most famous American in the world. He remains highly visible today as the face on the $100 bill; this portrait was selected as the basis for that engraving in 1995.

George Washington 1732-1799

by Gilbert Stuart  1755-1828

George Washington was unanimously elected as the first president of the United States, in 1789, unanimously! Kevin said he was familiar with this painting and was amazed to be seeing it in person. . The artist having worked in England and Ireland, drew from European traditions of state portraiture for this painting.

There is a similar painting of Abraham Lincoln next to Washington, but I prefer the one below. I like his smile. This "cracked-plate" portrait was taken in February of 1865, just two months before his assassination, only weeks into his second term and before his proposed Thirteenth Amendment to prohibit slavery nationwide was ratified.

Abraham Lincoln  1809-1865

by Alexander Gardner  1821-1882

John F Kennedy was the thirty-fifth president. I learned that during his short tenure he proposed landmark civil-rights legislation, created the Peace Corp and promoted the goal of landing on the moon. The artist was so moved by the president during her several informal sessions with him in Palm Beach that she went on to create dozens of drawings and paintings of him over the next ten months. The colors do feel like Palm Beach.

John F. Kennedy  1917-1963

by Elaine de Kooning  1918-1989

Barack Obama made history in 2009 by becoming the first African American president.  Artist Kehinde Wiley (you may recall we saw another of his paintings in the museum in Balboa Park last summer) is known for his vibrant, large-scale paintings of African Americans posing as famous figures from western art history. While this portrait does not include an underlying art historical reference, some of the flowers in the background carry special meaning for Obama. The chrysanthemums, for example, reference the official flower of Chicago. The jasmine evokes Hawaii, where he spent the majority of his childhood, and the African blue lilies stand in for his late Kenyan father.

Barack Obama  born 1961

by Kehinde Wiley  born 1977

George W. Bush became the forty-third president in 2001. Bush selected Connecticut portraitist Robert Anderson, with whom he attended Yale University to create this painting. He requested an informal image, posing in shirtsleeves at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.

George W. Bush  born 1946

by Robert Anderson  born 1946

William J. Clinton was the forty-second president. I learned that during his term he achieved a surplus in revenues for the first time since the 1960s and established NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. The artist, Chuck Close began all of his paintings with a photograph of his subject, in this case an image made during a photo session in August 2005 for a New York magazine cover. He then drew a grid on both the canvas and the photograph and used the information contained in the photograph to create a series of abstract modules on the canvas.

William J. Clinton  born 1946

by Chuck Close  1940-2021

Ronald Reagan was the fortieth president. Sadly there wasn't any color regarding the artist or the portrait. I include it because I think it makes him look like more the actor he was, it feels very Hollywood and could have easily been Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin in the portrait.

Ronald Regan  1911-2004

by Everett Raymond Kinstler  1926-2019

Jimmy Carter was the thirty-ninth president. He is known for his energy reform legislation and the a landmark peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. But I learned that he and his wife cofounded the Carter Center to promote international peace and human rights. In 2002, Carter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.

Jimmy Carter  1924-2024

by Robert Clark Templeton  1929-1991

Richard M. Nixon was the thirty-seventh president. I include this portrait as I was intrigued by the artist, Norman Rockwell. Apparently, Look magazine hired Norman Rockwell to portray the newly elected president. Admitting that Nixon's appearance was troublesomely elusive, Rockwell chose to intentionally flatter him. If he was going to err in his portrayal, he said he wanted it to be in the direction that would please his subject. 

Richard M. Nixon  1913-1994

by Norman Rockwell  1894-1978

After all the seriousness of the presidential tour, we went upstairs to see the rest of the portraits. I include some of the ones I found interesting.

It's hard not to recognize this artist's paintings. I include this portrait of LL Cool J as he strikes a pose reminiscent of John  D. Rockefeller's 1917 painting. LL Cool J had just read a biography of Rockefeller when he sat for this portrait. The crest contains boxing gloves that reference the rappers single "Mama Said Knock You Out" and the boxers in his family; his signature Kangol hat and a boom box that "symbolizes all things that hip hop was and is."

LL Cool J  born 1968

by Kehinde Wiley  born 1977

Born James Todd Smith II, LL Cool J (I didn't know was short for "Ladies Love Cool James") changed his name at sixteen when he released his first single and helped transfer rap into a mainstream in the 1980s. In 2017, he became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honor.

Here is the Rockefeller painting for reference.

John D Rockefeller

by John Singer Sargent

Bill Shoemaker, though I grew up knowing him as Willy Shoemaker. He was only four feet, eleven inches tall and weight just ninety-eight pounds. He was one of the smallest and lightest jockeys but also one of the most successful riders. He tallied more than 40,000 starts and 8,833 winning rides. He was just twenty-three when he won the derby crown in 1955, and fifty-four when he rode to his fourth and final derby victory in 1986. He was admired for his ability to guide his horses through his skillful use of the reins and bit instead of using a whip. 

Bill Shoemaker  1931-2003

by Zbigniew Nyczak  born 1955

In the late winter of 1985, the cover of Time magazine featured this double portrait of basketball star Larry Bird and hockey great Wayne Gretzky. The image ran with the headline Simply the Best, and the accompanying article described the pair as athletes whose excellence had "transcended the competition".

During his twenty-one years of professional play, Gretzky recorded more goals, assists, and total points than any hockey player in history and was named to the All-Star team eighteen times. During his time as an Edmonton Oiler, my family was glued to the TV watching him and his talented teammates win 5 Stanley Cups in six years. It was a fun time to be an Oiler fan!

Larry Bird  born 1956

Wayne Gretzky  born 1956

by Bart Forbes  born 1939

That's it for this museum. We are heading back to Phil and Laurie's for dinner and then a game of Settlers of Cataan, a tradition for this side of the family. Tomorrow is another day and another museum!

A dopo.