Portrait of Texas legend Sam Houston returns to SMU campus
Sam Houston IV joined a family reunion of sorts at SMU. The campus recently dedicated a life-size portrait of the elder Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas and one of its most colorful characters.
By HOLLY K. HACKER
The Dallas Morning News
 Sam Houston IV poses with the painting of his great-grandfather. (Photo by Hillsman Jackson of SMU) |
UNIVERSITY PARK – His hair is whiter, but he's got the strong nose and chin.
He stands a couple inches shorter but commands the same presence.
Yes, Sam Houston IV definitely looks like his great-grandfather.
The younger Houston, 77, joined a family reunion of sorts Tuesday at Southern Methodist University. The campus recently dedicated a life-size portrait of the elder Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas and one of its most colorful characters.
Just about everyone remarked on the family resemblance. Everyone, that is, but Houston IV.
"If you're trying to get me to look like him," Houston told a photographer as he posed under the portrait, "it ain't going to work."
The oil-on-canvas picture has a story almost as interesting as "the general" himself. It was painted in 1902 by Henry Arthur McArdle, an Irish immigrant drawn to Texas history.
Read a related story about the portrait of Sam Houston.
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