Presidents

Patrick Witty

The New York Times

Ulysses Grant is a retired postal worker. Sharing the name of the 18th president hasn't been easy, he said, as an alumnus of 12 anger management classes. His pride in the name has grown over the years. However, he added, “When somebody says a joke about Ulysses Grant or 'Do you know who's buried in Grant's tomb,' I just fly off the handle.” Mr. Grant's pose mirrors the body language of President Grant in a photograph made in 1865. That picture, taken by photographer Frederick Gutekunst, pays homage to the Jacques-Louis David painting, “Napoleon in his Study.”

Patrick Witty, "Presidents," in POYi Archive, Item #43574, http://archive.poy.org/index.php/items/show/43574 (accessed June 15, 2025).