A Renaissance Man: Jimmy Carter in the Arts

Beloved former President Jimmy Carter passed away on December 29, 2024 at the age of 100. After his term from 1977-1981, Carter was best known as a relentless advocate for peace, climate change, and human rights. Apart from this, the former president left a major impact in the world of art. He was not only a constant supporter of expression in art but used art in his campaigns. Carter was also a prolific writer, woodworker, painter, and poet. 

Carter frequently discussed his long-standing love for music, originating in fond childhood memories. He publicly urged the amalgamation of Black and White music industries and praised Otis Redding and others for doing so. His support of African American artists contributed to a broader national conversation about equity and representation. During his time as a governor, Carter played a significant role in the expansion of Georgia’s film industry, starting the State Motion Picture & Television Advisory Commission in 1973. Throughout his tenure as president, he often spent time at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, displaying his adoration of theater and production. Carter travelled across Georgia with Capitol Records; from this journey, he claims that he truly learned the power music holds in uniting people. Unlike many Democratic politicians of the time, Jimmy Carter came from a Wilsonian, or liberally principled, Southern household, where he developed the progressive ideals that he worked towards for his whole career. He found that music—and the arts as a whole—had a beautiful ability to connect the American population, urging Americans to disregard their differences and come together as one “united” entity. Thus, Carter found ways to utilize the arts in politics.

During his presidential campaign in 1977, Carter commissioned Andy Warhol to create the photo-collage “Jimmy Carter I,” sold in print nation-wide to fund the campaign.  Before his official inauguration, Carter continued to embrace the arts, inviting five celebrated American artists—Andy Warhol, Jacob Lawrence, Jamie Wyeth, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Rauschenberg—to the White House for the opening of the exhibition “Inaugural Impressions,” which highlighted the uniqueness of American culture while breaking the traditional, formal use of art in the White House. The works in this exhibition were sold to keep museums open late in D.C. during inauguration week and independently funded many free cultural events. This same year, Carter provided the National Endowment for the Arts with an even higher level of funding than it had, ensuring that local communities had access to art programs and that diverse voices within the arts were supported. During his final year in office, Carter authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, marking the end of his continuous efforts to help Americans move past the tragedy of the war. In 1978, Carter and his wife hosted the White House Jazz Festival. Through these initiatives, Carter demonstrated his passionate commitment to integrating the arts into political and national discourse. By supporting so many different art forms, he promoted the idea that art could be used as a tool of healing and reconciliation in times of hardship. 

Additionally, Carter pursued his own artistic endeavors. He was an accomplished writer, publishing 32 novels; he displayed magnificent range in his writing, covering historical fiction, poetry, memoirs, and philosophy. Though his work did not always sell, Carter’s writing was curious, creative, and intimate. He expressed his thoughts on his childhood, religion, and the challenges of getting older. He was awarded the Grammy for “Best Spoken Word” for his novel Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis. Carter was also an avid painter, with over 100 of his works on display at the Carter Center. His woodworking skills—which he harnessed in the U.S. Navy—further underscored his versatile creativity. His works in both literature and art were not simply a personal outlet but a means of connecting with the world around him. After his presidency, Carter’s art showed the public a more human side of him. By highlighting the power of art to unite, Carter’s life underscored the potential of culture and creativity to foster a deeper connection among citizens and create a more inclusive national identity.

Jimmy Carter was named a “renaissance man” by many, and he was one of few presidents able to have such strong involvement in the world of art. At the opening of the National Gallery East Building, Carter declared, “No matter how democratic a government may be; no matter how responsive to the wishes of its people; it can never be government’s role to define exactly what is good, true, or beautiful. Instead, government should limit itself to nourishing the ground in which art and the love of art can grow.”