Artist George Tooker, who was awarded the National Medal ... painting," Tooker explained in a 2009 interview at his Vermont studio. His piercing blue eyes sparkled as he reflected on a career ...

George Tooker papers, circa 1851-2010 ... which are full of inside jokes, studio updates, and frank complaints. Most document an extended period of European travel alongside Jared and Margaret ...

Such is George Tooker, 46, who works painstakingly in the 14th century Florentine medium of egg tempera on gesso panels. He is unabashedly proud of being called a traditionalist and a craftsman.