In Memoriam: Former President Jimmy Carter

We remember former President Jimmy Carter through a slightly different lens-- through the eyes of a longtime friend and through the portraits of Carter that are housed here at the National Portrait Gallery.Political aide Jack Watson met Carter 10 years before he became president. He found a farmer in work clothes driving a Chevy and quoting philosophy. Over their long friendship and while serving as chief of staff, Jack came to appreciate Carter as a man who was willing to take "bitter medicine" to do what he felt was right for the country. Jack describes a huge Polaroid portrait of Carter by the landscape photographer Ansel Adams, and he also explains why a softly lit painting depicting Carter in the Oval Office is not one of his favorites.See the portraits we discussed:Jimmy Carter, by Ansel AdamsJimmy and Rosalynn Carter, by Ansel AdamsJimmy Carter, by Robert TempletonOther portraits in the collection:Jimmy Carter, by Richard AvedonJimmy Carter, by Alan Reingold (Time magazine)Jimmy Carter, by Andy Warhol