Description
Presidential bill signing pen from President Ronald Reagan, when signing the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act Amendments of 1983. Includes an inscription from President Ronald Reagan to Frank Hodsoll, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Framed in black shadowbox, bill signing pen affixed to felt matte. Includes document signing pen, in original “Presidential Presentation” box. Both documents in facsimile. Full piece measures 33″ x 21″.
Inscribed by President Ronald Reagan to Frank Hodsoll, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts: “Frank, With special thanks for your hard work on this. Ronald Reagan.”
Frank Hodsoll (1938-2016) led the National Endowment for the Arts during the Reagan administration, successfully navigating a period of federal cost cutting and an aversion to federally funded arts programming. When Hodsoll requested the position from Chief of Staff James Baker III, “everybody said I was nuts,” and “it would setback my career.” During his 8 years at the endowment, they created the annual NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship and developed the National Medal of Arts. The endowment received an honorary Academy Award in 1985 for the founding of the National Center for Film and Video Preservation. After leaving the endowment, Hodsoll served in the Office of Management and Budget during the George H.W. Bush administration.
