Robert Anderson (artist)

Robert Alexander Anderson (born January 26, 1946) is an American portrait artist known for painting the official portraits of George W. Bush and Alan Greenspan as well as designing United States postage stamps.[1][2]

Robert Anderson
Born (1946-01-26) January 26, 1946
Occupationportrait artist

Early life and education

Anderson was born in 1946 in Wyandotte, Michigan. He graduated from Yale University in 1968 with an American Studies degree, and studied at the Boston School of the Museum of Fine Arts from 1972 through 1975.[3] He served in the United States Naval Reserve between 1969 and 1972 where he saw combat duty in Vietnam.[4] He began painting portraits in professionally in 1973.[5] He has lived in Lexington, Massachusetts, Darien, Connecticut, and currently lives in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Career

Anderson's first job after art school was as an illustrator for the John H. Breck Company, helping relaunch the "Breck Girls" campaign, creating pastel portraits of women for print and television advertising.[6][4][5]

Between 1984 and 1989 he worked under contract for the United States Postal Service creating U. S. postage stamps in the Great Americans series including portraits of John Harvard, Red Cloud and Sitting Bull.[4][7] He has created thirteen U.S. postage stamps and over 250 commissioned portraits.[8]

Anderson went to college with George W. Bush and reached out to the Yale Club about creating a portrait of him which was hung in the Yale Club in 2003. He later created the official portrait of Bush which hangs in the National Gallery.[5][9] He has also created official portraits of Department of Homeland Security secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff as well as official portraits of former Massachusetts governors William F. Weld and Edward J. King.[4]

References
  1. Dunn, John F. (1986-09-21). "STAMPS; AMERICAN SCHOLARS ARE HONORED". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  2. "George W. Bush". National Portrait Gallery. 1946-07-06. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  3. Shattuck, Ben (2014-12-09). "Painting the President". The Morning News. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  4. "Robert A. Anderson Master Artist". Portraits Inc. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  5. Grant, Daniel (2005-07-14). "Presidential Portraits". artnet Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  6. Fashion 86 Staff (1986-12-12). "The Breck Girl--that serene and frequently blond..." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  7. "Artist Biographies". National Postal Museum. 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  8. Cruice, Valerie (2003-11-09). "The Painter And the President". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
  9. Gambino, Megan (2009-01-07). "George W. Bush's Portrait at National Portrait Gallery". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
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