Freda Reiter – White House Plumbers – Pastel Drawing

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On July 12, 1974, these four members of the “White House Plumbers” were convicted in the 1971 burglary of the office of Lewis Fielding, the psychiatrist of Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg. G. Gordon Liddy, Bernard Barker, Eugenio Martinez, and (right) Ehrlichman, c. July 12, 1974

Pastel drawing, 17″ x 14″

Signature (detail)

Watergate exhibition page

Freda L. Reiter

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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.