--- title: George H.W. Bush: Behind TIME's Cover description: George H.W. Bush, who died Nov. 30, appears on TIME's new cover this week in an image captured in 1976 by photographer Richard Avedon canonical: https://time.com/5468805/george-hw-bush-time-cover/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-02T02:33:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T16:13:16.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Behind TIME's Cover Commemorating George H.W. Bush's Life og:description: The former President died Nov. 30 at the age of 94 og:url: https://time.com/5468805/george-hw-bush-time-cover/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31b62017c050a04e/6989405afb4eac8d61898547/george-hw-bush-richard-avedon-time-magazine-cover-facebook1.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:image:alt: george-hw-bush-richard-avedon-time-magazine-cover-facebook og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Behind TIME's Cover Commemorating George H.W. Bush's Life twitter:description: The former President died Nov. 30 at the age of 94 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31b62017c050a04e/6989405afb4eac8d61898547/george-hw-bush-richard-avedon-time-magazine-cover-facebook1.jpg?branch=production ---  # Behind TIME's Cover Commemorating George H.W. Bush's Life  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 12, 2023 4:13 PM UTCPublished: Dec 2, 2018 2:33 AM UTC  Photograph by Richard Avedon. © The Richard Avedon Foundation  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 12, 2023 4:13 PM UTCPublished: Dec 2, 2018 2:33 AM UTC Former President George H.W. Bush, who [died Nov. 30](http://time.com/longform/president-george-hw-bush-dead/) at the age of 94, appears on the cover of TIME this week, as the country commemorates his [legacy in American politics](http://time.com/5468753/george-hw-bush-jon-meacham/). Bush appeared on [more than 20 covers of TIME](http://time.com/4749106/george-hw-bush-time-magazine-covers/) during his life, first in 1970 as he campaigned for the U.S. Senate and last in 2015 as a second Bush son [prepared to run for U.S. President](http://time.com/3733162/in-the-latest-issue-25/). He covers TIME once again this week in a photograph captured by American photographer [Richard Avedon](https://www.avedonfoundation.org/history/) in 1976 for _Rolling Stone_ as part of a [series on people in power](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/photography/what-to-see/richard-avedon-is-this-what-power-looks-like/) titled “The Family.” At the time of his 1976 portrait, Bush was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Twelve years later, [he was elected President of the United States](http://time.com/4754901/president-george-hw-bush-accomplishments/). Bush was one of 69 people photographed for “The Family,” which coincided with the United States bicentennial election and included Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Cesar Chavez, Rose Kennedy, former Washington _Post_ publisher Katharine Graham and Shirley Chisholm, the country’s first black woman elected to Congress. “Politics interested Avedon increasingly throughout his lifetime,” Kara Vander Weg, director of Gagosian New York, [told the _Telegraph_ in 2014](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/photography/what-to-see/richard-avedon-is-this-what-power-looks-like/) when the series was displayed in London. “And America was almost bursting at the seams with it. He was a very intelligent man and he wanted to make a statement with his photography, not just about fashion and fame, but about something more important.” **Correction, Dec. 2:** _The original version of this story misstated the job title of Kara Vander Weg. 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