Face-to-Face, from the National Portrait Gallery

Sid Hart, senior historian at NPG, discusses a portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Charles Willson Peale. In 1791 Charles Willson Peale added this portrait of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson to his museum's collection of American heroes. Jefferson appears younger than his fifty years, perhaps evoking the young man the artist remembered as the Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress. Jefferson was well known to Americans in 1791, having also served as governor of Virginia and ambassador to France. This portrait of Jefferson is from Independence National Historical Park Collection in Philadelphia, and is currently on view at the National Portrait Gallery, in the "Presidents in Waiting" exhibition on the second floor. Sid Hart, senior historian at NPG, recently discussed the painting at a Face-to-Face portrait talk. Recorded at NPG, May 7, 2009. Image info: Thomas Jefferson / Charles Wilson Peale, 1791/ Oil on canvas / Independence National Historical Park Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Eunice Kennedy Shriver has been a leader in the worldwide struggle to improve and enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities for most of her life. In 1957 Shriver became director of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, which was created to deal with issues of mental retardation, and several years later she established a summer day camp at her home that became the basis for Special Olympics. In 1968 the Kennedy Foundation, working with the Chicago Park District, organized the First International Special Olympics Summer Games. Currently more than 1.3 million children and adults from more than 150 countries participate in the program. Shriver has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Theodore Roosevelt Award of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. David Lenz was commissioned to paint this portrait as part of the first prize in the inaugural Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Lenz's winning painting, Sam and the Perfect World, portrays his son, an active participant in Special Olympics events. For this commission, Lenz embraced the idea of making a portrait of Shriver that would also include five persons with intellectual disabilities who have been involved in Special Olympics and the Best Buddies program: (left to right) Airika Straka, Katie Meade, Andy Leonard, Loretta Claiborne, and Marty Sheets. Recorded at NPG, May 8, 2009. Image info: Eunice Kennedy Shriver / David Lenz, 2009 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Commissioned as part of the First Prize, Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2006

Eunice Kennedy Shriver has been a leader in the worldwide struggle to improve and enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities for most of her life. In 1957 Shriver became director of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, which was created to deal with issues of mental retardation, and several years later she established a summer day camp at her home that became the basis for Special Olympics. In 1968 the Kennedy Foundation, working with the Chicago Park District, organized the First International Special Olympics Summer Games. Currently more than 1.3 million children and adults from more than 150 countries participate in the program. Shriver has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Theodore Roosevelt Award of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. David Lenz was commissioned to paint this portrait as part of the first prize in the inaugural Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Lenz's winning painting, Sam and the Perfect World, portrays his son, an active participant in Special Olympics events. For this commission, Lenz embraced the idea of making a portrait of Shriver that would also include five persons with intellectual disabilities who have been involved in Special Olympics and the Best Buddies program: (left to right) Airika Straka, Katie Meade, Andy Leonard, Loretta Claiborne, and Marty Sheets. Recorded at NPG, May 9, 2009. Image info: Eunice Kennedy Shriver / David Lenz, 2009 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Commissioned as part of the First Prize, Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2006

Warren Perry, researcher at NPG, discusses a portrait of Eudora Welty by Mildred Nungester Wolfe. Eudora Welty was born 100 years ago this past April 13 and she died on July 23, 2001. She was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and she died in Jackson, Mississippi. Welty attended the Mississippi University for Women (also called the "W") from 1925 through 1927 and then transferred to the University of Wisconsin, from which she graduated in 1929. She enjoyed great acclaim as a writer, and her photography from her service in the Works Progress Administration has been exhibited in many museums. Her short stories are widely anthologized, while one of her novels, The Optimist's Daughter, received the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. An early novel of Welty's, The Robber Bridegroom (1941), was adapted into a Broadway musical in 1976 and earned a 1977 Tony Award for Best Actor (Barry Bostwick) and eight Drama Desk awards. Recorded at NPG, April 30, 2009. Image info: Eudora Welty / Mildred Nungester Wolfe, 1988 / Oil on canvas / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Sid Hart, senior historian at NPG, discusses Ronald Reagan. When ex-California governor Ronald Reagan began his presidency in 1981, his warmth and skill in handling the media had already planted the seeds of his reputation as the "great communicator." More significant, however, was how those traits were made to work on behalf of his conservative agenda. By the end of his second term, despite widespread concern over budget deficits and several administration scandals, Reagan's presidency had wrought many significant changes. Under his leadership, the nation had undergone major tax reforms, witnessed a significant easing of relations with the Communist world, and experienced a sharp upturn in prosperity. Reagan left office enjoying a popularity that only a few of his outgoing predecessors had ever experienced. This 1989 portrait of Ronald Reagan by Nelson Shanks is on view in the "America's Presidents" exhibition at National Portrait Gallery, on the museum's first floor. Recorded at NPG, April 16, 2009. Image info: Ronald Reagan / Nelson Shanks, 1989 / Oil on canvas / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the James Dicke Family / Copyright Nelson Shanks

In honor of the 110th birthday of Duke Ellington, the National Portrait Gallery today unveiled a portrait of the composer by his friend and fellow musician Tony Bennett. Bennett spoke briefly at the NPG's McEvoy auditorium this morning, discussing art, music, and his friendship with Ellington. The Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts Jazz Ensemble accompanied the ceremony with a brief set, and they were acknowledged by both NPG Director Martin Sullivan and Bennett. Bennett's watercolor of Ellington was then removed from the auditorium and taken to the NPG "New Arrivals" gallery, on the first floor, where it will be on public display through Labor Day. Bennett, a fifteen-time Grammy Award-winning singer, has a reputation as an accomplished visual artist. This donation marks the third painting he has donated to the Smithsonian. In 2006, Bennett's painting of Central Park was donated to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and in 2002 his portrait of Ella Fitzgerald was donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Recorded at NPG, April 29, 2009. Image info: Duke Ellington, Tony Bennett, 1993 / Watercolor and graphite on paper / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Tony Bennett

Adroitly navigating the disciplines of editorial photography and fine-art work, Alec Soth has emerged as a leading American artist. He is a member of the famed Magnum Photos group, and has shown his work in galleries and museums in the United States and in Europe. Born and based in Minneapolis and educated in New York, Soth first attracted critical notice with his series Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004). Since then, he has published NIAGARA (2006), Fashion Magazine (2007), and Dog Days, Bogota (2007). Unlike many contemporary photographers, Soth works with a large-format 8 x 10-inch camera, which, given the time involved in setting up for a photograph, creates an intense relationship between the artist and subject. Soth sees this as the crux of his work. A selection of Alec Soth's photographs are on display at the National Portrait Gallery as part of "Portraiture Now: Feature Photography." This exhibition highlights six photographers who, by working on assignment for publications such as the New Yorker, Esquire, and the New York Times Magazine, bring their distinctive "take" on contemporary portraiture to a broad audience. The exhibition closes on September 27, 2009.' For "Portraiture Now: Feature Photography" we chose a selection of Soth's portraits of women, drawn from past editorial work and fine arts projects, including three portraits from Fashion Magazine, which explored the world of Paris couture and countered those images with subjects from his Minnesota home. As Soth notes, "I'm trying to come to terms with how I honestly see and depict women. Are my pictures romanticized? Sexualized? Why do I see women in this way? For me, photography is as much about the way I respond to the subject as it is about the subject itself." Recorded at NPG, April 19, 2009. Image info: Kristin, St. Paul, Minnesota / Alec Soth / Chromogenic print, 2007 / Published in Fashion Magazine (2007) / Collection of the artist, courtesy Gagosian Gallery, New York City / Copyright Alec Soth

Ben Click, Professor at St. Mary's College, discusses a portrait of Mark Twain by John White Alexander. Using the pen name Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens had become one of this country's favorite satiric writers by the early 1870s, routinely making light of everyday human foibles. But it was the publication of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) that assured him a lasting place in American letters. Inspired in part by his own boyhood, these two tales set along the Mississippi River did more than capture the rhythms of youth in antebellum America. In both novels, Clemens examined with sardonic wit various tensions that underlay contemporary society, including, most importantly, the question of race. In later years, his success in this country and abroad was tempered by financial and personal setbacks and by a contempt for American and British imperialism. This portrait of Mark Twain, by John White Alexander, is on view in the "American Origins" exhibition at National Portrait Gallery, on the museum's first floor floor. . Recorded at NPG, April 16, 2009. Image info: Samuel Langhorne Clemens / John White Alexander, 1912 or 1913 / Oil on canvas / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Ann Shumard, curator of photographs at NPG, discusses a piece of daguerreian jewelry containing a portrait Samuel Morse. When a scarcity of commissions led Samuel Morse to reconsider his career as an artist, he turned from painting to pursue his earlier interest in inventing. In 1832, he conceived a plan for an electromagnetic recording telegraph and dedicated his energies to developing a working model for his invention. When Morse applied for a patent in 1840, he had succeeded in devising a relay system for transmitting messages over long distances and had created the practical transmission code that bears his name. This button-sized piece of daguerreian jewelry, featuring a portrait of Samuel Morse, was created around 1845 by artist Jonas M. Edwards. The piece is on display at the National Portrait Gallery, in the exhibition "Tokens of Affection and Regard: Photographic Jewelry and Its Makers" on the first floor. See the online exhibition at: http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/jewels . Recorded at NPG, April 9, 2009. Image info: Samuel F. B. Morse / Jonas M. Edwards, c. 1845 / Daguerreotype / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Warren Perry, researcher at NPG a portrait of Toni Morrison by Robert McCurdy. Toni Morrison has been writing about the experiences of African Americans since her first novel, The Bluest Eye, appeared in 1970. With the publication of each new work, both her fan base and critical acclaim grew, and she won the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Award for Song of Solomon (1977) and the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987). In 1993 Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first black woman to become a Nobel laureate. This 2006 portrait of Toni Morrison, by Robert McCurdy, is on view in the "Twentieth Century Americans" exhibition at National Portrait Gallery, on the museum's third floor. Warren Perry, researcher at the National Portrait Gallery, discussed the painting at a Face-to-Face portrait talk. Recorded at NPG, April 2, 2009. Image info: Toni Morrison / Robert McCurdy, 2006 / Oil on canvas / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; on loan from Ian and Annette Cumming

Erin Carlson Mast, curator at Lincoln's Cottage, discusses Mary Todd Lincoln. It is difficult to know the character of the Lincolns' relationship. When Lincoln wed Mary Todd in 1842, he married into a well-established Illinois family. Mary was strong-willed, capricious, and adamant. When she eventually showed signs of derangement, her instability colored discussions of her earlier years. Both of Lincoln's secretaries hated her and gained their revenge in their memoirs of the White House years. But from the best evidence, Lincoln was patient with a woman who could be difficult, not least because she suffered terribly at the death of their sons. After Willie died in 1862, she became increasingly fearful and detached, worrying about Lincoln himself, consulting spiritualists, and spending time away from Washington. This small sketch by Pierre Morand, circa 1864, seems to show her departing on such a trip, and the artist has juxtaposed the figures to suggest a gap or tension between them that will never be fully known. Erin Carlson Mast, curator at Lincoln's Cottage, spoke about Mary Todd Lincoln at a Face-to-Face portrait talk. The sketch of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln is displayed on the museum's first floor, in the exhibition "One Life: The Mask of Lincoln." See the online exhibition at: http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/lincoln . Recorded at NPG, March 26, 2009. Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, c. 1864 / Pierre Morand / Ink and opaque white gouache on paper / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

The NPG's Amy Baskette discusses a portrait of Lady Bird Johnson by Boris Artzybasheff. Claudia Taylor's nursemaid declared that she was as pretty as a "ladybird," a nickname that stuck with her through her entire life. Lady Bird Johnson graduated from high school at age fifteen and earned two degrees at the University of Texas: a B.A. in 1933 and a degree in journalism in 1934. That same year, she met Lyndon Johnson, a young legislative secretary. After a brief courtship--best characterized by her statement that "sometimes Lyndon simply takes your breath away"--they were married. Devoted to her husband's political career, Lady Bird Johnson ran his office during World War II and in 1955, after he suffered a heart attack. The couple had two daughters. As first lady, Lady Bird was active in Head Start and her promotion of the Highway Beautification Act. The National Portrait Gallery's Amy Baskette discussed this portrait of Lady Bird Johnson by Boris Artzybasheff at a Face-to-Face portrait talk. The work is displayed on the museum's second floor, in the exhibition "America's Presidents." The portrait was originally created for Time magazine's August 28, 1964, edition. Recorded at NPG, March 12, 2009. Image info: Lady Bird Johnson / Boris Artzybasheff, 1964 / Crayon, watercolor, ink and polymer on board / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine / Copyright Brois Artzybasheff

Sid Hart, senior historian at NPG, discusses a portrait of Martha Washington by Gilbert Stuart. Gilbert Stuart painted this portrait of Martha Washington at the same time he did that of the president. Both paintings were commissioned by the Washingtons. They were never completed, however, and the artist kept them in his possession until his death. Although Stuart made many copies of the president's portrait, no other likeness of Martha Washington by Stuart is known to exist. Sid Hart, senior historian at the National Portrait Gallery, discussed this 1796 portrait of Martha Washington at a Face-to-Face portrait talk. The work is displayed on the museum's second floor, in the exhibition "America's Presidents." Recorded at NPG, March 19, 2009. Image info: Martha Dandridge Custis Washington / Gilbert Stuart, 1796 / Oil on canvas / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; owned jointly with Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Ellen Miles, curator of painting and sculpture at NPG, discusses a portrait of Dolley Madison by William Elwell. Dolley Madison served as White House hostess during the administrations of the widowed Thomas Jefferson and her own husband, James Madison. Her effervescence doubtless accounted, in part at least, for the popularity of Madison's presidency in its last several years. After the end of Madison's term in 1817, Dolley helped her husband put his papers in order, selling a portion of them to Congress after his death.The work is displayed on the museum's second floor, in the exhibition "America's Presidents." Recorded at NPG, March 5, 2009. Image info: Dolley Dandridge Payne Todd Madison / William S. Elwell, 1848 / Oil on canvas / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Reuben Jackson, archivist at the National Museum of American History, discusses Ornette Coleman. For both his musical virtuosity on alto saxophone and his compositions, Ornette Coleman is one of the major forces in American music in the late twentieth century. Like painter Jackson Pollock and writer Walt Whitman, who rejected traditional forms as too constrictive for human expression, Coleman broke with existing jazz diction, creating a raw sound that seemed to deliberately avoid the musical scale in favor of "playing in the cracks." Reuben Jackson, archivist at the National Museum of American History discussed this portrait of Ornette Coleman by Frederick J. Brown at a Face-to-Face portrait talk. The work is displayed on the museum's third floor, in the exhibition "20th Century Americans." Recorded at NPG, February 19, 2009. Image info: Thelonious Sphere Monk / Boris Chaliapin, 1964 / Oil on canvas / National Portrait Gallery, gift of Time magazine