Presidential Papers, Doc#98 To Clara Thomas Jones, 19 March 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Document #98; March 19, 1953
To Clara Thomas Jones
Series: EM, AWF, Name Series
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIV - The Presidency: The Middle Way
Part I: Charting a New Course; January 1953 to April 1953
Chapter 2: "A number of misunderstandings": Party and International Struggles

 

Dear Mrs. Jones: From this moment onward I shall quit worrying about the inadequacies of the portrait I painted of your son.1 I have been quite unhappy about some of the colors I used in painting the shadows on his face.2 But when a mother gives her approval to a portrait of her son, painted by me, I am far more than content--I am exceedingly complimented.

My wife and I are very sorry that you could not come to Augusta when we had the "presentation ceremony." We should have considered it a great privilege to meet you because the other members of the family, by their graciousness and charm, provide convincing evidence of what Colonel Bob's wife and young Bob's mother must be.3

With every good wish and my thanks for your compliment, including especially its exaggeration,4 Sincerely

1 Mrs. Jones's son, golfing champion Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. (or "Bobby" Jones), had become well known to Eisenhower through his membership in the Augusta National Golf Club, of which Jones served as president. Although Jones suffered from a spinal disease that often hospitalized him, he had during the pre-convention campaign of the preceding year worked to swing Georgia Republicans toward Eisenhower (Galambos, NATO and the Campaign of 1952, nos. 852 and 955). Eisenhower had begun his portrait of Jones late in 1952, while living in New York, and completed it after the Inauguration (New York Times, Mar. 1, 1953).

On March 17 (AWF/N) Jones reported that the painting had been the "sensation of the evening" at a March 15 gathering at the Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta, where his mother had viewed the portrait. Jones enclosed a note she had written to the President: "Yesterday I had the privilege and great pleasure of seeing your portrait of my son and feel compelled to tell you that I think it is a miracle!" Mrs. Jones declared.

2 Eisenhower had confessed dissatisfaction with the "dark colors" and smudges in the painting (New York Times, Mar. 1, 1953).

3 Jones and his father, Robert T. Jones, of Atlanta, had attended the unveiling ceremony, held in the club's trophy room during the President's late-February visit to Augusta (ibid.). In her message Mrs. Jones, who described herself as an invalid, had apologized for her absence.

4 On this same day Eisenhower wrote Jones acknowledging his mother's letter, which he said "encourages me mightily."

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Clara Thomas Jones, 19 March 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 98. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/98.cfm

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