Photograph of the Late Senator John S. McCain III by Steve Pyke On View at the National Portrait Gallery

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and legacy of late senator and former presidential nominee John S. McCain III with a photograph by the British-born photographer Steve Pyke. The portrait will be installed this morning in the museum’s In Memoriam space on the first floor. Media are invited to view and photograph the portrait during a special open house today beginning at 11:30 a.m.

McCain, who was born in 1936, was an established politician and Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy. Before entering politics, he demonstrated great commitment to his country by enduring five-and–a-half years as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down during the Vietnam War. Following his release from prison in 1973, he later relocated to Arizona where he began a career in politics. A long-time Republican, McCain was the winner of the party’s presidential nomination in 2008. His lifetime commitment to public service is marked by his two years in the House of Representatives and his work as a six-term elected senator of Arizona. He also served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Despite his battle with brain cancer, McCain served in the Senate until his death. He is survived by his wife and seven children.

This portrait of the late senator was taken in 2005 by Steve Pyke, who at the time was a staff photographer for The New Yorker. Pyke gained wide recognition while working for leading publications in the 1980s and is known for having a distinctive, close-up portrait style. Commenting on the relationship between photographer and sitter, Pyke has said, “That encounter, that exchange, is often brief, but the image which we make of those moments can be the way a person is remembered beyond their own lifetime, remaining long after the voice has been forgotten.” (New York City, 2007)  

Pyke’s work was featured in the Portrait Gallery’s “Portraiture Now: Feature Photography” exhibition in 2008, and he is represented in the museum’s permanent collection.

An image of this portrait is available for press at newsdesk.si.edu; the work can also be photographed or filmed in the museum. For access, contact Concetta Duncan at duncanc@si.edu.  

National Portrait Gallery

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of the United States through the individuals who have shaped American culture. Spanning the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists, whose lives tell the American story.

The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture at Eighth and F Streets NW, Washington, DC. Smithsonian information: (202) 633-1000. The public can connect with the museum at npg.si.edu, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and the museum’s blog.  

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