Photograph inscribed to Republican senator.

[1953]. A notable portrait presented to a prominent early supporter Inscribed by the president "For Senator William A. Purtell, with best wishes and warm regard from his friend Dwight D. Eisenhower"; an appealing image of a pensive Eisenhower by renowned Capitol Hill photographer George Tames, taken in the White House as Eisenhower announced the truce ending the Korean War. Purtell (1897-1978) served as Republican Senator for Connecticut in 1952 and from 1953 to 1959. He was one of the earliest Connecticut Republicans to support Eisenhower's run for the presidency. In turn Purtell's success in the November 1952 Connecticut senatorial election rode on the back of the strong public support for Eisenhower in the simultaneous presidential election; Purtell allied himself closely to Eisenhower's campaign platform. "A strong supporter of President D. Eisenhower's policies, Senator Purtell was also a staunch American who liked to say: 'we have the finest country, the finest system of society and the finest government in the world'" (New York Times obituary, 1 June 1978). The photographer George Tames (1919-1994) worked for the New York Times on Capitol Hill and in Washington from 1945 to 1985, taking many shots which became iconic. He took the photograph after Eisenhower's joint radio and television address to the nation announcing the signing of the Korean Armistice, 26 July 1953. Interestingly, this image would have been familiar to millions of Americans through its use on the 6 cent stamp, issued in 1970. Official photograph taken by George Tames, 358 x 280 mm, copyright notice to verso stating reproduction by the Signal Corps of the US Army. Dark oak frame with conservation acrylic glazing, 427 x 351 mm. Slight cockling, inscription a little faded but still clearly legible, very good.