Longtime Journalist Bob Schieffer Bares His Soul in a New Art Exhibition

Bob Schieffer retired from the anchor desk nearly a decade ago, but he never walked away from the news.

When confronted with the startling global and political developments of the past several years, the television journalist who spent more than a half century at CBS, including almost 25 years as the moderator of “Face the Nation,” took to a different medium — oil paint.

The resulting 25 works of art are featured in an exhibition set to open on Saturday at the American University Museum in Washington. The title, “Looking for the Light,” is inspired by the poem that Amanda Gorman recited at President Biden’s inauguration, but it also reflects what Mr. Schieffer sees for the nation’s future despite paintings that depict some of the darkest moments in recent history.

The paintings, a mix of images and text ripped from the headlines, include depictions of the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 protests after the death of George Floyd.

This is the first solo exhibition for Mr. Schieffer, 87. He has had little formal training but has had years of practice since his talent was first nurtured by his grandmother. As a child, he would sit with her on her front porch in Texas and draw the cows.