Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson became First Lady when her husband Lyndon Johnson was inaugurated as president following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Lahav’s Great Americans series has included depictions of several First Ladies: Jackie Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Nancy Reagan. Their actions, and fashions, receive intense media scrutiny, and their representation in portraiture often emphasizes glamorous ballgowns in contrast to the statesmanlike depictions of their spouses. Lahav has said, “the office of president is essentially the ‘greatest’ American job, and has only been held by men, despite the fact that the couple facilitates the position.”

Here, Lahav acknowledges Johnson’s contributions to Americans’ social and environmental well-being. To bolster her husband’s War on Poverty, she co-founded Head Start in 1965 to foster school readiness among low-income children. Lahav inserts into her skirt an image of her reading to a class, along with examples of wildflowers she protected as an environmental conservationist. He also slips a detail from one of contemporary artist Gerhard Richter’s cow paintings into the background, its lettering allowing it to masquerade as a school poster. Lahav’s first portrait series, 48 Jews, was a response to Richter’s 48 Portraits, which included no women. The incorporation of First Ladies into The Great Americans addresses Lahav’s desire to bring women visibility they have often been denied in history, and to extend the canon of greats beyond male founding fathers.