Portrait exhibit brings 47 American presidencies to life
Article excerpt
America's 250 years have been divided into 47 presidencies, served by 45 men. A new exhibit on display in the lobby of Goldman Sachs' global headquarters in New York City brings each presidency to life. Artist Salvatore Catalano pairs a…
America's 250 years have been divided into 47 presidencies, served by 45 men.
A new exhibit on display in the lobby of Goldman Sachs' global headquarters in New York City brings each presidency to life. Artist Salvatore Catalano pairs a portrait of every president with a quote that captures the era or the individual.
Why it matters: "Most Americans can't name the presidents, much less tell you what they look like," Catalano tells Axios. "This was a labor of love."
"Portraits are very important to me," says Catalano, who's spent decades developing a distinctive style of color, shadow and light in portraiture. "We look at a list of names, but there's no color there. There's no brilliance, no blood."
Zoom in: He used quotes from each president to inspire the style of the portrait. Here's a sampling from the first three and latest three presidents, shown above:
George Washington: "Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism," from the first president's farewell address on Sept. 19, 1796.
John Adams: "To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do," from a letter Adams wrote to his daughter, Abigail, on March 17, 1777.
Thomas Jefferson: "Where the press is free ... all is safe," from a letter to close friend and political ally Charles Yancey on Jan. 6, 1816.
Barack Obama: "We are the change that we seek," from his speech after Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, 2008.
Joe Biden: "The art of living is simply getting up after you've been knocked down," at an event at the National Press Club on Aug. 1, 2007, during his 2008 candidacy.
Donald Trump: "Our golden age has just begun," from his second inaugural address.
"My job is to find things that nobody else knows about these people," Catalano tells us.
"For Washington, I could have chosen something more recognizable, but this one struck me."
Photo: Goldman Sachs
The exhibit, featuring all 47 presidential portraits framed by two American flags, the 13-star Betsy Ross flag on the left and the modern 50-star flag on the right, will remain on display in Goldman Sachs' lobby through August.
After that, it will move to D.C.