During his visit to Gettysburg to paint the portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower, renowned Chadds Ford artist Andrew Wyeth also created a watercolor-on-paper landscape that he gifted to the president, writes  Michael Birkner for the Philadelphia Heritage. 

The painting depicts an old sycamore at the Eisenhower farm, with the president’s house seen in the background. The painter later recommended naming the artwork At Home. 

Eisenhower was a big admirer of Wyeth’s work. One of the artist’s landscape paintings was displayed in the president’s office at the White House. 

In 1955, Ike wrote Wyeth that “the painting has excited the admiration of many of my visitors and I share — as only a complete amateur can — a great enthusiasm for your techniques and artistry.” 

In July 1959, the president selected Wyeth’s painting Children’s Doctor to be part of the American National Exhibition in Moscow. 

That summer, Time commissioned Wyeth to paint the president’s portrait for the magazine’s cover. 

Eisenhower posed for 15 minutes to an hour every day for five days in his favorite jacket of straw-colored silk. The resulting portrait was featured on the cover of Time’s Sept. 7, 1959, issue. 

Read more about Andrew Wyeth painting for Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Philadelphia Heritage. 

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