Highlights: Portraits of Power - The Imagery of Leadership

Is a picture worth a 1,000 words? Can we learn something about our presidents by simply looking at a photograph? Do pictures deceive or illuminate? Are they part of today's fake news?

Join the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington for the annual George Washington Leadership Lecture. Established through a generous gift by Maribeth Borthwick '73, who also serves as the Vice Regent for California of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, this lecture series explores the lasting legacy of President Washington, providing a better understanding of him as a man and as a leader.

As the military leader of the Revolution and first President, Washington was literally an icon of the new nation, his face placed on our currency, his monument towering over the nation's capital. During his life, and ever since, we have continually associated his image with integrity, power, and democracy.

This year's George Washington Leadership Lecture explores historical and contemporary portraits of leaders, and how they provide public access into the character of presidents. Few individuals are better situated to discuss image and the presidency than our guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, David Hume Kennerly, who has taken photographs during the last seven presidencies. At 27 years old, Kennerly became the nation's third Chief White House Photographer during Gerald R. Ford's presidency. Since then he has had a front row seat to major events and decisions.