Object Details
- Artist
- Jay Wesley Jacobs, 1898 - 1968
- Sitter
- Harry S. Truman, 8 May 1884 - 26 Dec 1972
- Exhibition Label
- Upon learning of President Franklin Roosevelt’s death on April 12, 1945, Harry Truman told reporters he felt as if “the moon, the stars, and all the planets” had fallen on him. That summer, faced with the daunting task of ending the war in the Pacific, Truman directed the use of devastating nuclear bombs against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ushering in the atomic age and a race for states, particularly the Soviet Union, to develop similar weapons. After the war, he signed the United Nations Charter to help prevent future conflicts. Confronting an increasingly belligerent Soviet Union, Truman endorsed the Marshall Plan, a program that aimed to rebuild war-torn Western Europe, and helped form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a collective security alliance.
- Truman’s approval rating declined during his second term as he faced crises at home and abroad. When he left office in 1953, the United States was embroiled in the Korean War, and his reputation had sunk to a record low. Over time, however, Truman has grown to be better appreciated for both his pragmatic flexibility as well as his honesty. He is also known for his efforts to end racial discrimination in the U.S. military.
- Cuando Harry Truman supo de la muerte del presidente Franklin Roosevelt el 12 de abril de 1945, dijo a la prensa que sentía como si se hubieran caído sobre él “la luna, las estrellas y todos los planetas”. Ese verano, ante la abrumadora tarea de acabar la guerra en el Pacífico, Truman autorizó el uso de bombas nucleares contra las ciudades japonesas de Hiroshima y Nagasaki, dando inicio a la era atómica y la carrera armamentista de las naciones, sobre todo la Unión Soviética. Tras la guerra, firmó la Carta de las Naciones Unidas para evitar conflictos futuros. Ante una Unión Soviética cada vez más belicosa, Truman endosó el Plan Marshall para ayudar a reconstruir a Europa Occidental, asolada por la guerra, y participó en la creación de la Organización del Tratado del Atlántico Norte (OTAN), una alianza de seguridad colectiva.
- En su segundo período, su índice de aprobación bajó en medio de crisis nacionales y exteriores. Al fin de su mandato en 1953, el país estaba inmerso en la Guerra de Corea y su reputación había caído como nunca. No obstante, con el tiempo se le ha llegado a apreciar por su flexibilidad pragmática y su honestidad, así como sus esfuerzos por eliminar la discriminación racial en las fuerzas armadas de EE.UU.
- Provenance
- The artist; Lawrence Wood Robert, Jr.; his daughter, A. Birney Robert
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of the William T. Kemper Foundation
- 1945
- Object number
- NPG.2014.14
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Stretcher: 102.1 × 81.6cm (40 3/16 × 32 1/8")
- Frame: 120.3 × 100 × 2.2cm (47 3/8 × 39 3/8 × 7/8")
- Place
- United States\District of Columbia\Washington
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Exhibition
- America's Presidents (Reinstallation September 2017)
- On View
- NPG, West Gallery 210
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Harry S. Truman: Male
- Harry S. Truman: Law and Crime\Lawyer
- Harry S. Truman: Politics and Government\Vice-President of US
- Harry S. Truman: Business and Finance\Natural resources commerce\Agriculturist
- Harry S. Truman: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Captain
- Harry S. Truman: Law and Crime\Judge
- Harry S. Truman: Politics and Government\Government official\President of US
- Harry S. Truman: Politics and Government\Government official\US Senator\Missouri
- Harry S. Truman: Civilian awards\Congressional Gold Medal
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.2014.14
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm487a7da61-b436-4ee9-bcb1-ce85f71417f0
