Harry S. Truman

Upon learning of Franklin Roosevelt’s death on April 12, 1945, Harry Truman said he felt as if “the moon, and the stars and all the planets” had fallen on him. That summer, he faced the daunting task of ending the war in the Pacific and negotiating with an increasingly belligerent Soviet Union. Facing Soviet expansion, he endorsed the Marshall Plan, the strategy that helped rebuild war-torn Europe.

After winning the election of 1948, Truman’s presidency began to founder as he was faced with crises, including the Korean War. By the time he left office, his reputation had sunk to a near record low. Yet over time, Truman has been better appreciated for both his pragmatic flexibility and his honesty. He is also known for his efforts to end racial discrimination in the US military.

Truman granted Jay Wesley Jacobs five portrait sittings in the White House in 1945. The artist created two portraits. This one, commissioned by Assistant Treasury Secretary Lawrence Wood Robert Jr., was intended for the U.S. Senate but ultimately remained in the Robert family.