Escape the Office: Satisfying Nixon Nostalgia

NEGATIVE OPINIONS about the state of affairs under President Bush have apparently prompted even some Republicans to long for the leadership of a president from a different era. No, not Ronald Reagan. Richard Nixon. Yes, the same 38th president who resigned in the face of impeachment, Watergate and all of the political acrimony of the early 1970s.

Journalist Elizabeth Drew sketched out her Nixon nostalgia hypothesis in an op/ed in The Post on Saturday:

Anger and frustration with [President Bush] have produced an unusual turn of late. Numerous people have been moved to remark, "I'm beginning to miss Nixon," or, "I wish we could have Nixon back" — this usually followed by, "He was so progressive on domestic policy."

So if you're truly itching for more Nixon, where can you find him? Sure, there's plenty in the holdings of the National Archives, including this tapestry given as a gift from then-Imperial Majesty Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran. But what's more easily accessible?

Since it's unlikely we're ever going to see a statue of Nixon go up in place of Mexican president Benito Juarez in front of the Watergate anytime soon, the spot to get your Nixon fix is at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. Norman Rockwell's famous portrait of Nixon, pictured above, is among the more peculiar in the gallery's presidential collection. Peculiar as in Nixon looks as harmless as a teddy bear, a departure from the stern, scowling figure seen in many depictions. According to the gallery, Rockwell intentionally made the portrait flattering:

The reason he did, Rockwell said, was that Nixon's appearance was troublesomely elusive, and if he was going to err in his portrayal, he wanted it to be at least in a direction that would please the subject.

But not everything else in the National Portrait Gallery paints Nixon — or his administration — in such an ideal light. If you explore the rest of the gallery, you'll discover some other key Nixon nuggets ...

Nearby, in the Cold War section of the presidential exhibit, you'll find a selection of artwork used in various Time magazine covers from the era. The first is a cartoon-like illustration by Mort Drucker of Mao Zedong and Nixon playing table tennis on the July 26, 1971, cover — a take on the thawing relations between Washington and Beijing during the Nixon era.

Next to it is art associated with another Time cover from July 1, 1974, pictured at left, titled "Testing Detente" by Jack Davis. In it, Nixon meets then-Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev on the eve of the 1974 Moscow summit, and both leaders are depicted with a handful of missiles behind their backs. Behind Nixon in the cartoon is one of his harshest Democratic critics in the Senate, Washington Sen. Scoop Jackson, trying to pull the president back.

Up on the third level of the Old Patent Office Building, you'll find the 20th Century American portraiture collection, including a number of Nixon-related pieces. The most striking, perhaps, is Stanley Glaubach's nickel-coated plaster bust of Nixon Attorney General John Mitchell, which was used for a Time magazine cover for May 21, 1973, pictured at right.

It sits within view of a 20-person composite "Wanted" poster of those tied to the Watergate break-in, including names you might only recall from "All the President's Men," including Hugh Sloan Jr., Jeb Magruder and Maurice Stans.

Nearby, there's yet another Time magazine cover, this one from Oct. 24, 1969, that has an image of Nixon that says: "What if we just pull out?" Sound familiar? While the conflicts of Iraq and Vietnam are fundamentally different in scope, the sentiments that tie the two are very much real. And that brings us to the comparisons between Nixon and the current president.

While there is no direct political or policy comparison of Nixon and George W. Bush in the National Portrait Gallery, the gallery does link the two in a way. In the special "Being There" exhibition of photographer Harry Benson's work, there is no way escaping the giant photograph of then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the governor's mansion in Austin, which shows a confident presidential candidate looking much more youthful than he does today, and seems to be staring at the viewer in a most uncomfortable way. According to the gallery description of Benson's account of the photo shoot:

Bush looked at you the way a boxer would ... by not quite looking at you yet taking everything in.

Curiously, immediately to Bush's right is Benson's photo of Nixon's 1974 resignation at the White House.

» "Nostalgia for Nixon?" [WaPo]
» "Harry Benson: Being There" [National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian]

» National Portrait Gallery, F Street NW between 7th and 9th streets, 202-633-8300; "Harry Benson: Being There" on display through Sept. 7 (Gallery Place-Chinatown)

Top photo by Michael Grass/Express; Nixon tapestry courtesy National Archives; Time magazine covers courtesy Time

Posted By Michael Grass at 12:01 AM on June 11, 2007 Tagged in Escape the Office , Free Ride , Museums & Galleries , Out & About , The District , Top Stories

Comments (13) | Archive