Painting of General Eisenhower in Army Uniform

In 1948, artist Thomas Stevens was commissioned to create this portrait of General-of-the-Army Dwight D. Eisenhower. The painting was later displayed in the White House during Eisenhower's Presidency, 1953-1961. Today it hangs in the living room of the Eisenhower Home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Eisenhower served as U.S. Army chief-of-staff from 1946 to 1948. He oversaw the orderly demobilization of the military following World War II and the administration of the U.S.'s former enemies's occupied countries. It was a difficult job. He wrote, "No personal enthusiasm marked my promotion to chief-of-staff, the highest military post a professional soldier in the United States Army can reach. When President Truman broached the subject I told him that I'sd rather retire but he said he had special need of me at the moment."�