Lester Hughes Biography
Back in 1969, when Lester Hughes quit his job as a business supply salesman to become a full time artist, he never dreamed that one day his paintings would hang in the White House. Seven years later, however, this artists' dream came true, when one of his works was presented to President-elect, Ronald Reagan during a 1976 campaign stop in Hughes' home town of El Paso, Texas. According to "Time" magazine that particular painting, a 24" x 36" oil featuring a Southwestern landscape with a dilapidated windmill and old shack, and several of Hughes' other works did hang in the presidential mansion during Reagan's tenure in office. Over the years, Reagan continued to be so enamored with Hughes' paintings that he purchased at least dozen more. Success has not changed Hughes' personality. Looking at his simple life-style, it is difficult to imagine that he numbers a bevy of Congressmen and Senators, and numerous other celebrities such as actress, Betty White, golfer Lee Trevino, and ex-Presidents George Bush and Gerald Ford among the collectors of his work