Bob Schieffer's art at the Katzen

This one Mr. Schieffer titled Our Very Best and wrote: "We've lived through a difficult period, but we must never forget that Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt dealt with far worse during their presidencies."

The artist from CBS and "60 Minutes" and more was there, of course, with his curator, Michael Beschloss, presidential historian, and a packed gallery at American University's Katzen Arts Center.

I can't call it an elbow to elbow crowd; it was more like cheek-to-cheek. You guess.

From left, Michael Beschloss, the curator; Jack Rasmussen, the director of  American University's Katzen Arts Center; and Bob Schieffer/photo by Patricia Leslie, AP 6, 2024

Bob Schieffer, Paradise Lost, 2023 (detail).  The label says:  "The horrible fire that swept Maui was the perfect example of the new threat that extreme weather now poses."

Bob Schieffer, Honest Abe ... "I drew this picture in 1983 and I included it because I always feel better when I think about Honest Abe."

For 87 years old (! where does time go?), Bob Schieffer paints well, mixing mostly non-fiction subjects in a collage fashion in large-sized works. His colors are bold and brassy; his style is mostly realism with some impressionism (Election Night, 2020 and the celebration in Lafayette Park, my favorite). His portraits of celebrities (a startled Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra Day O'Connor, John Lewis, Amanda Gorman, John McCain, George Floyd) are unadorned. 

Every time I look at his art, I find myself with growing admiration for his talent for it's obvious that he didn't first pick up a paint brush when he retired, but years ago when his grandmother taught him. 

Bob Schieffer, The Bump, 2020:  "After Biden won, hundreds of celebrants poured into Lafayette Park to let the world know." 

Bob Schieffer, The Face of Evil, 2022: "This was the easiest painting to name. I have no idea who first painted it, only that is appeared on hundreds of signs carried by Ukrainians fighting the Russian invaders."

Schieffer has modeled many of his works on notable scenes and photographs, such as his Napalm Girl, a sad token of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning photograph, "The Terror of War," by Huynh Cong "Nick" Út.  Growing up during the Vietnam War, I hate to be reminded.

Bob Schieffer with Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson with a Schieffer painting:  Cassidy Hutchinson: Profile in Courage. Ms. Hutchinson testified before the January 6 Committee about Trump's actions on January 6 and, on another day, she helped a White House valet clean catsup off a wall where someone had thrown it. Who in the White House eats catsup and has temper tantrums?/Photo by Patricia Leslie, April 6, 2024 

Bob Schieffer with Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson at the exhibition opening/Photo by Patricia Leslie, April 6, 2024 

There's a painting of Maggie Haberman smiling.  Maggie Haberman smiles? Since when did she smile? She's spent so much time with Trump, she's become schooled in the Trump Center for Facial Expressions:  "Never smile." (He's also pictured scowling in front of St. John's Church.)

Bob Schieffer, Journalism 101  featuring Maggie Haberman

Bob Schieffer, The Unforced Error:  Leaving the Graveyard of Empire, 2021 (detail). Schieffer writes:  "Unlike the American experience in VIetnam, Biden envisioned a dignified end to America's longest war. Instead it was a debacle."

Bob Schieffer, The Irony of War, 2022-2023 (detail) with the label: "Russian and American astronauts returned to Earth after working together for a year in space, something no longer possible back home."

A large crowd turned out for the opening of Bob Schieffer's art exhibition at the Katzen Arts Center, American University/Photo by Patricia Leslie, April 6, 2024 

It was cheek to cheek for the opening of Bob Schieffer's art exhibition at the Katzen Arts Center, American University/ Photo by Patricia Leslie, April 6, 2024 

Celebrities at the event included Gloria Borger, Judy Woodruff, Al Hunt, Gloria Bohan, Christine O'Dwyer, Mary Gotschall and Bruce Guthrie.

Most of the women wore Washington Safety Black with the exception of Norah O'Donnell in a matching rose pink jacket and pants, and Cassidy Hutchinson in a spring garden dress.

Jake Tapper reportedly showed up in a Phillies jersey after a game between the Nationals and Philadelphia who won.  

Mr. Schieffer laughed (and the crowd laughed with him) about all the talk about presidential candidates being old:  He would love to be 80 again!  

In the artist's statement posted on the wall, he wrote that his interest in an exhibition started in early 2020: "What I soon understood was that Covid was just the beginning. One crisis after another settled over a society already reeling from the pandemic."  

The title of the show, Looking for the Light, originated with Amanda Gorman's poem delivered at President Biden's inauguration. Schieffer: "I found hope in a dark and dangerous time."

On April 20 from 2 - 3 p.m., Mr. Schieffer and Jack Rasmussen, the AU museum director, will give a talk (with perhaps Curator Beschloss on hand; the website is unclear).  Go here to sign up at Eventbrite. Signed catalogues will be available.

WHAT: Looking for the Light

WHEN:  Through May 19, 2024, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday 

WHERE:   Katzen Arts Center at American University, 4400 Mass. Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016-8031

ADMISSION:  Free!

PARKING:  Garage parking is free on weekends and after 5 p.m., weekdays. Paid parking is available, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., weekdays.

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