Existing comment:
Richard Nixon, 1913-1994
This portrait of President Nixon was featured on the cover of Time magazine on May 14, 1973, with the headline, “How Much Did He Know?” This question foreshadowed Howard Baker’s famous iteration a few weeks later, “What did the President know, and when did he know it?” On June 25, 1973, White House Counsel John Dean testified that Nixon not only knew of the break-in but had also directed the cover-up.
Two weeks before this portrait was published, Nixon fired his closest advisors, H. R. “Bob” Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, as well as Dean. After Attorney General Richard Kleindienst resigned, Nixon appointed Elliot Richardson to replace him. The Justice Department then appointed its own special prosecutor, former Solicitor General Archibald Cox, to investigate possible administration misdeeds.
George Giusti, 1973
Time magazine cover, May 14, 1973
Collection Description
In 1978, Time magazine donated approximately eight hundred works of original cover art to the National Portrait Gallery. The museum is dedicated to telling the stories of individuals who have shaped the United States, and the Time Collection -- featuring prominent international figures and events -- enriches our understanding of the United States in a global context. |