Freda Reiter – ‘Alone in Oval Office’ – pastel drawing

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Titled “Alone in Oval Office,” this pastel imagines Nixon shedding a tear as he prepares to sign his letter of resignation. While the resignation took place on August 9, 1974, the drawing is dated 1975. Reiter might have prepared the drawing for a television program recapping the Watergate saga.

Pastel drawing, 17″ x 14″

Signature (detail)

Watergate exhibition page

Freda L. Reiter Political

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Since cameras were banned from courtrooms, news outlets depended on professional sketch artists like Freda Reiter for visuals. When Reiter was assigned the Watergate burglary trial, in 1973, she had no idea that she would be spending the better part of two years in Washington.

Watergate Courtroom Sketches by Freda L. Reiter, 1973–75
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To provide sufficient visuals for the substantial airtime allotted to the story each night, Reiter made multiple sketches a day: close-up portraits, as well as wide-angle views of the courtroom incorporating as many as 28 figures.