Back

Johnson as Lear

Usage Conditions Apply

Artist: David Levine, 20 Dec 1926 - 29 Dec 2009
Sitter: Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr., 27 May 1911 - 13 Jan 1978; Lyndon Baines Johnson, 27 Aug 1908 - 22 Jan 1973; Robert Francis Kennedy, 20 Nov 1925 - 6 Jun 1968; Wilbur Daigh Mills, 24 May 1909 - 2 May 1992

Date: 1967

Type: Drawing

Medium: Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Dimensions: Sheet: 37.5 × 27.6 cm (14 3/4 × 10 7/8"); Mat: 45.7 × 35.6 cm (18 × 14")

Topic: Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses; Costume\Headgear\Headdress\Crown; Religious\Halo; Cartoon\Political; Lyndon Baines Johnson: Male; Lyndon Baines Johnson: Literature\Writer; Lyndon Baines Johnson: Politics and Government\Vice-President of US; Lyndon Baines Johnson: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher; Lyndon Baines Johnson: Politics and Government\President of US; Lyndon Baines Johnson: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist; Lyndon Baines Johnson: Politics and Government\US Senator\Texas; Lyndon Baines Johnson: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Texas; Lyndon Baines Johnson: Presidential Medal of Freedom; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Male; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Politics and Government\Presidential candidate; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Politics and Government\Vice-President of US; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\University; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Politics and Government\US Senator\Minnesota; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Politics and Government\Public official\Mayor\Minneapolis, MN; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Medicine and Health\Pharmacist; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Journalism and Media\Broadcast journalist\Newscaster; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Presidential Medal of Freedom; Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.: Congressional Gold Medal; Robert Francis Kennedy: Male; Robert Francis Kennedy: Politics and Government\US Senator\New York; Robert Francis Kennedy: Law and Crime\Lawyer; Robert Francis Kennedy: Politics and Government\Cabinet member\US Attorney General; Robert Francis Kennedy: Literature\Writer; Robert Francis Kennedy: Politics and Government\Presidential candidate; Robert Francis Kennedy: Politics and Government\Campaign director; Robert Francis Kennedy: Politics and Government\Brother of US President; Robert Francis Kennedy: Congressional Gold Medal; Wilbur Daigh Mills: Male; Wilbur Daigh Mills: Law and Crime\Lawyer; Wilbur Daigh Mills: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Arkansas; Portrait

Credit Line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine

Restrictions & Rights: Usage conditions apply

Object number: NPG.78.TC475

Exhibition Label: Named Time’s 1964 “Man of the Year” because of his remarkable presidential successes, Lyndon Johnson (1908–1973) received that distinction again in 1967 for his perceived failures. Violently scorned for escalating the Vietnam War, chastised by African Americans for moving too slowly on civil rights, and hounded in Congress for the costliness of his ambitious domestic programs, Johnson had even been deserted by much of his own Democratic Party. By the first week of 1968, when this caricature appeared on Time’s cover, his approval rating had plummeted from a peak of 80 percent to 38 percent.; Artist David Levine (1926–2009) took his inspira- tion from Shakespeare’s play King Lear (c. 1606), which centers on a man who runs afoul of his children and his own good intentions. Fellow Democrats Senator Robert Kennedy (1925–1968) and Representative Wilbur Mills (1909–1992) belea- guered the president; only one member of Johnson’s political “family” remained loyal: Vice President Hubert Humphrey (1911–1978).; Lyndon Johnson (1908–1973) fue “Hombre del Año” de la revista Time en 1964 por sus notables logros en la presidencia, y volvió a serlo en 1967, esa vez por lo que se opinaba eran sus fracasos. Despreciado con violencia por intensificar la guerra de Vietnam, criticado por los afroamericanos por su lento avance en materia de derechos civiles y atacado en el Congreso por el alto costo de sus ambiciosos programas domésticos, Johnson incluso fue abandonado por gran parte de su propio Partido Demócrata. Para la primera semana de 1968, cuando apareció esta caricatura en la portada de Time, su índice de aprobación se había desplomado de 80 por ciento a 38 por ciento.; El artista David Levine (1926–2009) se inspiró en el drama shakesperiano El rey Lear (c. 1606), sobre un hombre que se enemista con sus hijas y se desvía de sus buenas intenciones. Acosado por sus compañeros demócratas, el senador Robert Kennedy (1925–1968) y el representante Wilbur Mills (1909–1992), el presidente solo contaba en su “familia” política con un miembro fiel: el vicepresi- dente Hubert Humphrey (1911–1978).
Collection Description: In 1978, Time magazine donated approximately eight hundred works of original cover art to the National Portrait Gallery. The museum is dedicated to telling the stories of individuals who have shaped the United States, and the Time Collection—featuring prominent international figures and events—enriches our understanding of the United States in a global context.; En 1978, la revista Time donó a la National Portrait Gallery cerca de 800 obras de arte originales creadas para sus portadas. Nuestro museo se dedica a narrar la historia de figuras que han contribuido a forjar el desarrollo de Estados Unidos, y es así que la Colección Time, que incluye retratos de importantes personalidades internacionales, nos ayuda a comprender mejor a nuestra nación en un contexto global.

Data Source: National Portrait Gallery