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Stuart Symington

Stuart Symington
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Philippe Halsman, 02 May 1906 - 25 Jun 1979
Sitter
Stuart Symington, 26 Jun 1901 - 14 Dec 1988
Date
1950
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 34.9 × 27.1 cm (13 3/4 × 10 11/16")
Sheet: 35.5 × 27.9 cm (14 × 11")
Topic
Interior
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Necktie
Stuart Symington: Male
Stuart Symington: Politics and Government\US Senator\Missouri
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of George R. Rinhart
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Philippe Halsman Archive
Object number
S/NPG.83.27
Exhibition Label
Born Amherst, Massachusetts
During the Army-McCarthy hearings, first-term Democratic senator Stuart Symington emerged as one of the inquiry’s sharpest critics. A successful industrialist with prior service as the first secretary of the air force during the Truman administration, Symington was assigned to the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Government Operations Committee in January 1953. Six months later, he resigned in protest from the latter committee’s permanent investigation subcommittee, citing the autocratic rule of its chairman, Joseph McCarthy.
When he rejoined the subcommittee during the Army-McCarthy hearings, Symington frequently sparred with McCarthy. He was mocked by the senator as “sanctimonious Stu” for challenging the ruthless tenor of the proceedings and suggesting that McCarthy “should see a psychiatrist.”
Nacido en Amherst, Massachusetts
Durante las audiencias Ejército-McCarthy, el senador demócrata Stuart Symington, quien estaba en su primer término, fue uno de los críticos más fuertes. Exitoso industrial, y habiendo sido el primer secretario de las fuerzas aéreas bajo el gobierno de Truman, Symington quedó asignado a los comités senatoriales de Servicios Armados y Operaciones Gubernamentales en enero de 1953. Seis meses después, renunció al subcomité de investigaciones de Operaciones Gubernamentales en protesta por el despotismo de su presidente, Joseph McCarthy.
Cuando Symington volvió al subcomité durante las audiencias Ejército-McCarthy, tuvo frecuentes encontronazos con McCarthy, quien lo apodó “el santurrón Stu” por impugnar la ferocidad del proceso y sugerir que McCarthy “debía ir a un psiquiatra”.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
20th Century Americans: 1930-1960
On View
NPG, South Gallery 321