Reflection on Portrait Gallery Painting

Before we left for the National Portrait Gallery, we were given a list of questions to ponder as we visited the museum. One asked us to choose a portrait, and if there was anything striking about how the subject is portrayed. As I browsed the collection, the portrait of George Washington Carver struck me in particular.
The style of the work was not outstanding; it even seemed dull compared to the nearby sculpture of Rosa Parks and silkscreen of Marylin Monroe. What really piqued my interest was how he was portrayed. Rather than staring at the viewer with a confident stare, posed in a heroic manner, Dr. Carver was standing over a table in an outdoor garden, carefully examining a potted flower. His face was calm and serene, yet loving, like a grandparent helping their grandchild learn how to read. He was holding one of the flowers of the plant gently in the palm of his hand, not slicing it to bits or ripping it apart for an experiment, as he most likely would in his actual work.
Although George Washington Carver was a pioneer in plant science, an American "great", he is not depicted heroically, an inaccessible giant. He is the kind neighbor, the loving father, the friendly gardener. He is a normal American that achieved greatness. This painting serves to underscore that point.