After quite some time remembering the information but having the source bugging me, I was finally able to dig up an article and no wonder I couldn't find the damn source before—I kept checking Jean Edward Smith and Michael Korda's biographies. I thought this seemed a little too salty for their writing styles.
Anyway, two fun takeaways: 1) it's quite possible Ike used to paint in the same small room in the White House where Warren Harding used to go bang his mistress (thank god for the Truman renovations; decent chance otherwise the amount of seed spilled in there would've meant it was the honorary office for the Secretary of Agriculture) and 2) Ike remained a humble man, despite being President.
Questioned about his painting, Eisenhower's response? "Let's get something straight here, Cohen. They would have burned this [shit?] a long time ago if I weren't the president of the United States."
Alas, not all painter presidents can be George W. Bush, who is truly a one-man Renaissance.
Comments
Post a Comment