Johnson ’ s reaction was legendary .
“ That ’ s the ugliest thing I ever saw !” he bellowed .
Peter Hurd , “ Portrait of President Lyndon Johnson ,” 1967
at the time , he stands on the balcony of the White House at sunset , holding a book of American history , with the Capitol building glowing in the distance . The last detail was Lady Bird ’ s idea , which she insisted on over Hurd ’ s objection , but she was critical of the background , which she thought looked “ too violet .” She also disliked the “ gnarled ” hands , but she was pleased with the face .
The 36th president was not . His reaction was legendary . “ That ’ s the ugliest thing I ever saw !” he bellowed .
Hurd was hurt . He thought he had honored Johnson , who he had always respected . The painting remained with him for many years , until he donated it to the Smithsonian Institute ’ s National Portrait Gallery , where it hangs today . Johnson later joked that he had been misquoted .
The only thing he disliked about the Hurd portrait , he said , was that the artist “ left out the halo .”
Egg tempera painters are still rare , but they have a fierce devotion to their chosen medium . Stan Miller says that it takes a lot of layers of tempera to achieve a sense of depth —“ up to 20 layers at times ”— but when it does , it achieves a nearly threedimensional feeling . “ Egg tempera is also terrific if one paints old things … an old car , old person , a gritty grass covered field , a tree trunk , but it also works great for colorful subjects that have texture .”
The 21st century is still young . Perhaps it can witness another revival of the mysterious , lovely medium that has enchanted painters from the Italian Renaissance to the Harlem Renaissance .
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