President Nixon Aboard USS Hornet
July 24, 1969
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print with applied color
Dimensions
image: 18.1 × 21.5 cm (7 1/8 × 8 7/16 in.) sheet: 19 × 22.2 cm (7 1/2 × 8 3/4 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon
Accession Number
2018.21.36
Art Historical Context
Captured on July 24, 1969, *President Nixon Aboard USS Hornet* is a vivid gelatin silver print with applied color, documenting a pivotal moment in American space history. Just four days after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin historic moonwalk during the Apollo 11 mission, President Richard Nixon visited the USS Hornet, the Navy aircraft carrier tasked with recovering the astronauts from their splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. photograph freezes Nixon amid the jubilant crew and quarantine preparations, symbolizing national triumph and Cold War-era pride in NASA's achievements. The medium—a black-...
About the Artist
American 20th Century
"American 20th Century" is the designation used by major institutions such as the National Gallery of Art (NGA) for anonymous and unidentified artists active in the United States during the twentieth century. The artist's personal identity, early life, and training remain undocumented, reflecting the challenges of attribution for unattributed works from this era. No specific teachers, art schools,...