Thursday, January 20 — through Sunday, October 30 THE FINE ART OF BEING PRESIDENT Blackhawk’s new exhibition The Fine Art of Being President presents nearly 100 portraits, sculptures and unique historical artifacts related to the American Presidency. It is located in the Museum’s Upper Auto Gallery and runs through Sunday, October 30.

Rather than a collection of Presidential memorabilia, it is instead a visually compelling exhibition of historically significant fine art created in both two- and three-dimensional works … some dating back to the 1700s. An original maquette of the Statue of Liberty (bronze, ca. 1885) highlights a significant historical event during the presidency of Grover Cleveland: the gifting of that internationally recognized symbol to the United States. To help alleviate waning support for the funding of the Statue of Liberty’s base, small models and statuettes were created to reinvigorate public interest in the project. The smaller versions were created by the Statue’s sculptor, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, and then patented and exhibited in the United States. Dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886.   President John F. Kennedy (Term: 35th: 1961–1963), Robert Angelini, ca. 1988, oil on canvas. The artist posthumously captures President Kennedy during a contemplative moment during the Cuban missile crisis. Jacqueline Kennedy is among the First Ladies presented in this exhibition; the stunning 30" x 24" oil on canvas was created by Lawrence Whittaker in the 1960s and depicts Caroline and John Jr. in the foreground. This painting was the prize for an essay contest “What Jacqueline Kennedy Means to Me,” advertised in the popular magazine Photo Screen, in 1966. Maria Ruoff from Shillington, PA, a recent widow herself, won and received the painting in June of 1966. Portraits of other First Ladies include Hillary Rodham Clinton, Caroline Lavina Scott (Mrs. Benjamin) Harrison, Dolley Payne Todd Madison, and Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge.

Notable busts of Presidents range from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. One of the most impressive is that of Harry Truman, sculpted by Felix de Weldon. Truman was so impressed by de Weldon’s larger-than-life-scale Iwo Jima Monument that he requested the artist to sculpt his official Presidential Inaugural bust, which was commissioned by the Democratic National Committee in 1947. Truman personally sat for this official work, something rarely done by American presidents, making this an exceptional piece. •   •   •   •

Several programs are scheduled to explore this exhibition; please check the Museum's Program Calendar for current information. This exhibition and related programs are sponsored by the Museum's Guild. The Presidential Seal and a bronze statue of George Washington on horseback (by H.M. Shrady; this powerful sculptural model of Washington as the General of the Continental Army was used to construct a larger-than-life monument erected in a Brooklyn Heights park to commemorate his role in battling the British in New York City during the Revolutionary War), seen through the window of the 1942 Lincoln Presidential Limousine.

George Washington plaque at the entrance to the exhibition.

Counsel of War, ca. 1865, plaster. President George W. Bush (Term: 43rd: 2001–present), George Angelini, ca. 2001, oil on canvas. Angelini depicts the relaxed persona of our current president at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2001. In the foreground is a rocking chair commemorating the U.S. Victory at Manila Bay. The carved headrest commemorates Admiral George Dewey’s victory there.

The mythological scene of Heracles fighting Hydra in the background symbolizes the axis powers that Roosevelt dealt with during the demanding times surrounding WW II. President Herbert Hoover (Term: 31st: 1929–1933) by William Oberhardt, oil on canvas This painting was signed by President Hoover as an acknowledgement of his approval of Oberbardt’s portrait. President Andrew Jackson (terms: 7th: 1829–1837), oil on canvas This bold presidential portrait captures Andrew Jackson, who became a national hero when he defeated the British in New Orleans in the war of 1812. Born in the Carolinas, Jackson was a self-taught lawyer settling as an adult in Tennessee. He was the first man elected from Tennessee to the House of Representatives and served briefly in the Senate.   Life Mask of President Abraham Lincoln (Term: 16th: 1861–1865), ca. 1860, plaster, and bronze of Lincoln in foreground.

President Andrew Jackson (Term: 7th: 1829–1837), ca. 1834, painted wood. The inspiration for this piece was hand-carved by Laban S. Beecher in 1834, and mounted to the bow of the US Navy frigate Constitution as a figurehead. An anti-Jacksonian named Captain Samuel Dewey decapitated the original on July 3, 1834, in response to a new, strict banking policy introduced by the president earlier that year. President George Washington (foreground, terms: 1st: 1789–1797), cast metal.