Museum salutes Nancy Reagan with art
Nancy Reagan was remembered by the Smithsonian in Washington with the public exhibition of the former first lady’s portrait by the late artist Aaron Shikler.
The work of art, which dates from 1984- 85, was once featured on the cover of Time magazine. It is on view at the National Portrait Gallery’s In Memoriam space on the first f loor.
Reagan died March 6 at 94 at her home in Los Angeles. The portrait, which was created during her time at the White House, shows her striking a casual pose and wearing a red dress.
The Smithsonian said that the essence of oil on paper work was a gift of Time magazine. The portrait appeared on the magazine’s cover on Jan. 14, 1985, with the headline “White House Co- Star: Nancy Reagan’s Growing Role.”
The National Portrait Gallery’s In Memoriam section commemorates prominent political and cultural figures who have recently died and who are represented in the museum’s collection.
A spokeswoman at the Smithsonian said the Reagan portrait will be on public view through March 28.
Shikler, who died last year, was a noted portrait artist who created paintings of numerous political figures. He created the posthumous portrait of John F. Kennedy that hangs in the White House and has painted other first ladies, including Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson.
He also created a separate portrait of Nancy Reagan that hangs in the White House. The painting depicts the first lady standing in profile, dressed in a formal red gown.
The funeral for the former first lady took place on Friday in Simi Valley at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, where she was buried next to her husband, who was president from 1981 to 1989. He died in 2004 at age 93.