--- title: George H.W. Bush Dies—Remembering a Young Politician at Home description: Photographer Leonard McCombe captured the balance of Bush’s life, in a moment when his political career was still just beginning. canonical: https://time.com/3943912/george-hw-bush-photos/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-01T05:45:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:38.620Z og:title: George H.W. Bush Dies—Remembering a Young Politician at Home og:description: Photographer Leonard McCombe captured the balance of Bush’s life og:url: https://time.com/3943912/george-hw-bush-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt042919538659cdd8/698859665f570fdcb9b1c499/150701-george-hw-bush-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: George H.W. Bush in 1971 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: George H.W. Bush Dies—Remembering a Young Politician at Home twitter:description: Photographer Leonard McCombe captured the balance of Bush’s life twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt042919538659cdd8/698859665f570fdcb9b1c499/150701-george-hw-bush-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Inside the Private Family Life of a Young George H.W. Bush by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Dec 1, 2018 5:45 AM UTC  George H.W. Bush in 1971. George H.W. Bush in 1971.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Dec 1, 2018 5:45 AM UTC George H.W. Bush, [who died Nov. 30, 2018 at the age of 94](http://time.com/longform/president-george-hw-bush-dead/), served the government in various roles before he was elected president in 1988. In 1971, Bush had recently lost a bid for election to the Senate, and was serving as President Richard Nixon’s ambassador to the United Nations, a role he filled until 1973. It wasn’t an easy job: when LIFE Magazine [caught up with him](https://books.google.com/books?id=FkAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=%E2%80%9Cwit,+stamina+and+enthusiasm%22&source=bl&ots=1Osq0OiIwA&sig=K%5Frw6b-efbWCHUfcd1FAl6EdYEU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj906%5FJndPaAhVQneAKHehcD9YQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9Cwit%2C%20stamina%20and%20enthusiasm%22&f=false), it was at the tense moment that the United Nations decided to admit “Red China” as a member in place of the Nationalist government based in Taipei. Bush, then 47, was an advocate of the “two-China solution,” of keeping both governments in the international organization. Bush was hissed at and booed by other ambassadors, and LIFE reported that even his wife, Barbara Bush, who [died at 92 on April 17, 2018](http://time.com/5244196/former-first-lady-barbara-bush-dies-92/), was “sneered at” as she sat crocheting in the gallery. For observers, however, Bush’s attitude in the face of the significant setback was telling. Though some had doubted whether he was appropriate for the U.N. job—his diplomatic experience at the time of his appointment was pretty much zero—Bush had quickly shown that he made up for that gap in “wit, stamina and enthusiasm.” “In trying to save Taiwan’s seat,” the magazine noted, “he had set what must be a U.N. track record for personal effort.” His attitude every day was a model of go-get-‘em, as he raced to and from meetings, collapsing at the end of a long day knowing that even though he was sometimes so tired that he said he wanted to cry, he would do it all over again tomorrow. The magazine ended up only publishing images of Bush at work, but photographer Leonard McCombe also captured the balance of Bush’s life—the home and family that he left behind when he went off to New York to the United Nations. As these images make clear, the future President whose “wit, stamina and enthusiasm” impressed the international community had no shortage of enthusiasm for the rest of life as well.  George H.W. Bush in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush and nephew at home in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara at home in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush and family at home in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush and family at home in 1971\. From left: Nephew Billy, daughter Dorothy, George H. W., son Neil, wife Barbara, nephew Jon. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush at a baseball game in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush at a baseball game in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush at a baseball game with son Marvin in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush at a baseball game with son Marvin in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush at a baseball game with son Marvin in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush at home in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush with daughter Dorothy at home in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush with daughter Dorothy at home in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush with daughter Dorothy at home in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara on a plane in 1971. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3943912/george-hw-bush-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3943912/george-hw-bush-photos/"},"headline":"See Inside the Private Family Life of a Young George H.W. Bush","datePublished":"2018-12-01T05:45:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:38.620Z","description":"Photographer Leonard McCombe captured the balance of Bush’s life","url":"https://time.com/3943912/george-hw-bush-photos/","keywords":["politics","photography","LIFE Magazine","George H.W. 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