Thanks to some diligent web-digging by my wife, I can give a fuller account of the matter, which arose when a reader asked if Eisenhower had actually painted the Pan portrait --not so, of course..
The famous portrait by Arthur Pan was widely reproduced in prints during and after the war. It was admired by Eisenhower, a rather less- skilled artist than Churchill, who took up painting during his Presidency. In 1955, Eisenhower made a copy of the Pan and gave it to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The photo our reader describes of them admiring what I think is Ike’s original, during Churchill’s 1959 visit, is at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/medicalmuseum/3351592995/ According to dcmilitary.com, Ike’s original is owned by the Eisenhower family and the Eisenhower Suite at Walter Reed, recently restored, displays a copy. See: http://www.dcmilitary.com/dcmilitary_archives/stories/071405/35965-1.shtml Their photo is too small to tell whether it’s Eisenhower’s or Pan's version, but it seems logical they would have reproduced Ike's if the original was returned to his family. The caption says it was “presented” to Churchill, but I think they mean Ike "showed" it to WSC, since his own painting remained in the USA. It was loaned for an exhibit in Tucson in 1969, the year of Eisenhower's death. I think the August 1965 National Geographic Churchill issue is where I saw Ike’s version but don't have my copy at hand. I do recall that Eisenhower’s was crude by comparison, looking almost like a “Paint-by- Numbers” production. It was certainly not in the same league with Arthur Pan’s, which was one of the best, and is much admired by the Churchill family. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat?hl=en.
