Ned Bittinger

Edmund Stuart Bittinger (born July 4, 1951), better known by Ned Bittinger, is an American portrait painter and illustrator who is known for his paintings of prominent American figures. His notable works include the congressional portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Lindy Boggs for the United States Capitol, as well as Secretaries of State James Baker and Lawrence Eagleburger's official State Department portraits. He has also painted official portraits of Henry Kissinger, John Mica, and Jon Corzine, among others.

Bittinger made his debut as an illustrator in 1995 with the Passover Sedar fiction children's book The Matzah That Papa Brought Home, which was met with critical acclaim and became an American Library Association Notable Children's Book and a Notable Book for Younger Readers from the Sydney Taylor Book Award. He later illustrated The Blue and the Gray (1996) and Rocking Horse Christmas (1997), both of which received positive reviews from critics. In 2002, he illustrated his latest book, When the Root Children Wake Up, which is a retelling of Sibylle Von Olfers' book, The Root Children, originally published in 1906.

Early life and education Ned Bittinger was born in 1951 in Washington, D.C. He started painting and drawing in the third grade. When he was age thirteen, his parents sent him to the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design of Washington, D.C. He attended Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland.

He left to attend Denison University in Ohio, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In an interview in 2017, Bittinger stated that he originally got an F grade in painting at Denison University.

After graduating, Bittinger briefly got a job at a commercial arts studio.

Portrait of Lindy Boggs Corinne Claiborne (Lindy) Boggs, U.S. House of Representatives On September 27, 2004, the portrait of Lindy Boggs was unveiled at the Capitol. The portrait includes a small replica of the Car of History clock which has been present in the Old House Chamber since 1819. This clock was included to show Boggs's love for history and commemorate the Commission of the United States House of Representatives Bicentenary, which she chaired. The portrait hangs in the Lindy Claiborne Boggs Congressional Women's Reading Room in the U.S. Capitol, adjacent to Statuary Hall.

Portrait of Henry Kissinger In 2005, Bittinger was commissioned the paint a portrait of Henry Kissinger as Chancellor for the College of William and Mary. "They usher me in, and he looks at me 'who are you' and I say I'm here to paint your portrait, and then I had to pull out this midlevel garb." The portrait depicts Kissinger with his chancellor's robes and chain. Kissinger reportedly objected to using the hat and asked Bittinger not to include it. Bittinger spent the day in Kissinger's office sketching him from life. The book was well received by critics and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The book ended up selling over 50,000 copies and became an American Library Association Notable Children's Book and Notable Book for Younger Readers from the Sydney Taylor Book Award. An article in Albemarle Magazine stated that Manushkin was at first unhappy with his first set of paintings Bittinger created because of his lack of originality. Bittinger painted a second set of paintings for the book spending months on the project, and making a plaster cast of the father in the story so he could make a more accurate profile. He spent six months on preliminary drawings and then the paintings for the book. and The Blue and the Gray written by Eve Bunting which received the Hoosier Young Readers' Award from the children of Indiana and the "Teachers' Choice Award" from The International Readers Association.

Upon release, When the Root Children Wake Up (2002), written by Audrey Wood, received mixed reviews, with Publishers Weekly criticizing Wood's words calling them "slightly forced", while also calling Bittinger's illustrations "a laudable effort, but one that's ultimately less than the sum of its parts". Kirkus Reviews called both the words and images "quite charming", while also pointing out the difference between Wood's story and the original by Olfers: "Wood's tale changes the Root Children's activities from work to play—not a bad thing, but a definite difference". The Blue and the Gray by Eve Bunting. Scholastic, 1996. Rocking Horse Christmas by Mary Pope Osborne. Scholastic, 1997. When the Root Children Wake Up by Audrey Wood. Scholastic, 2002.

Notable commissions

Lawrence Eagleburger, Secretary of State, U.S. State Department Lloyd Elliott, President of The George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs, 1988 General Carl Vuono, Chief of Staff of the Army 1991 James Baker, Secretary of State, US State Department, Washington, D.C., 1994 General Gordon Sullivan, Chief of Staff of the Army 1994 Abraham Lincoln, Official portrait for the US House of Representatives, 2004 Henry Kissinger, Former Secretary of State, College of William & Mary, 2005 Jack S. Griswold, President, Maryland Historical Society, 2005 Stanard T. Klinefelter, President, Maryland Historical Society, 2005 John Mica, US Congressman from Florida, US House of Representatives, 2012 Judge Roger W. Titus, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, 2014 Lee Yeakel, United States District Judge, 2017 Jon A. Husted, House Speaker of Ohio, Ohio Statehouse, Columbus, Ohio, 2017 Charles Kurfess, House Speaker of Ohio, Ohio Statehouse, Columbus, Ohio, 2017 Gregory Swanson, First African American to attend the University of Virginia, 2018

Awards 2003 Honors Award for Portraiture, Portrait Society of America 2023 Signature Status, Portrait Society of America 2023 Finalist Commissioned Portrait, Members Only Competition, Portrait Society of America 2023 Finalist Non-Commissioned Portrait, Members Only Competition, Portrait Society of America 2023 Finalist Outside the Box, Members Only Competition, Portrait Society of America