-
-
-
Login
At age 37, Glen Loates became the first Canadian artist to be represented at the White House, and he met President Ronald Reagan in person to present his painting.
It began as Glen's own idea: a life-size watercolour of a bald eagle, given to the President of the United States as a gesture of friendship between the two countries and to mark 200 years of the bald eagle as America's symbol. He spent seven months painting it.
With determination and persistence, Glen brought the idea to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who was enthusiastic and eager to attend. When other commitments kept him away, Trudeau arranged for Canadian Ambassador Allan Gotlieb to accompany Glen to the White House.
Just before Christmas 1982, in the Oval Office, Reagan was awestruck by the piece. The framed watercolour measured 127 by 152 centimetres (50 by 60 inches), full of life and extraordinary detail.
Glen has always been a movie lover, and over the years he had watched many of Reagan's westerns. He later told his son Michael that the two of them hit it off immediately, talking about films and westerns. When a member of the President's staff stepped in to remind him that his next meeting was approaching, Reagan waved it off: they would be ready when he was ready.
At age 37, Glen Loates became the first Canadian artist to be represented at the White House, and he met President Ronald Reagan in person to present his painting.
It began as Glen's own idea: a life-size watercolour of a bald eagle, given to the President of the United States as a gesture of friendship between the two countries and to mark 200 years of the bald eagle as America's symbol. He spent seven months painting it.
With determination and persistence, Glen brought the idea to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who was enthusiastic and eager to attend. When other commitments kept him away, Trudeau arranged for Canadian Ambassador Allan Gotlieb to accompany Glen to the White House.
Just before Christmas 1982, in the Oval Office, Reagan was awestruck by the piece. The framed watercolour measured 127 by 152 centimetres (50 by 60 inches), full of life and extraordinary detail.
Glen has always been a movie lover, and over the years he had watched many of Reagan's westerns. He later told his son Michael that the two of them hit it off immediately, talking about films and westerns. When a member of the President's staff stepped in to remind him that his next meeting was approaching, Reagan waved it off: they would be ready when he was ready.
In a letter dated January 4, 1983, on White House letterhead, President Reagan wrote that he was âtruly gratified to accept, as a gift to the American people, the magnificent watercolor of a bald eagle.â
The original letter remains in the Loates family archive.
In a letter dated January 4, 1983, on White House letterhead, President Reagan wrote that he was âtruly gratified to accept, as a gift to the American people, the magnificent watercolor of a bald eagle.â
The original letter remains in the Loates family archive.
by Glen Loates
by Glen Loates
The Oval Office presentation is one chapter in a lifetime spent studying the natural world.
