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On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, as mission commander of the crew of Apollo XI. He and astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins thus fulfilled President Kennedy’s audacious challenge of 1961: “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” Armstrong subsequently oversaw aeronautics research at NASA and taught aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1979. He received numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.
A reticent man, it was not certain that Armstrong would agree to sit for his portrait, but after one of his closest friends, Robert L. Kirk, met with him and explained the process, Armstrong sat for the artist Robert McCurdy. The latter completed his photographs of Armstrong in 2006, but the painting was not finished until 2012.
El 20 de julio de 1969, Neil Armstrong se convirtió en el primer hombre que pisó la luna, siendo comandante de la misión Apolo XI. Él y los astronautas Buzz Aldrin y Michael Collins cumplían así el audaz reto lanzado en 1961 por el presidente Kennedy: “Esta nación debe comprometerse, antes de que termine la década, a alcanzar la meta
de colocar a un hombre en la luna y devolverlo a salvo a la tierra”. Armstrong luego supervisó investigaciones de aeronáutica en la NASA y enseñó ingeniería aeroespacial en la Universidad de Cincinnati desde 1971 hasta 1979. Entre los muchos honores que recibió, figura la Medalla Presidencial de la Libertad en 1969.
Debido a su carácter reservado, no era seguro que Armstrong accediera a posar para un retrato; no obstante, después de que su buen amigo Robert L. Kirk le explicara el proceso, posó para el artista Robert McCurdy. Este tomó las fotos a Armstrong en 2006, pero la pintura no se finalizó hasta 2012.
