I mean, the best lighting angle are — are from over here. — O.K. But when you’re going to do cosmetic shots of the sculpture, it should be in the best light there is. Pick up a little more. It’s still not the best light for it. Um … How’s that? How does it look in the light there? Is that the right angle? Come on, boy. Let’s see. We talk to our cars, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with talking to a furry … creature, here. O.K. … O.K. Gonna work with him today a little bit, so … we’ll see his fur. We’ll see how he looks today. Oh, you look good today, Benjamin. You look good, today. [music] A new president at the White House means a new painting at the National Portrait Gallery. And this morning the artist, Allen Hirsch, is next to his work. And Mr. Hirsch, good morning. [music] [sighs] How you feeling? O.K. So tell me about how you met Benjamin. [static] Belkis came walking in through the gate below, holding this box. Something about her, how she was walking and how she looked, made me stop what I was doing. Belkis: There was this little boy with a shoe box. And inside the shoe box, there was this tiny, little animal. I said, what happened? He told me that there were two little monkeys before, and one of them died. And I said, “Look at — look at this one, it’s not eating, we have to take it to the vet.” Probably a hunter shot the mother down. The mother fell from the tree, like really high up. Allen: He was dying, so … went immediately to the pharmacy and got him some baby milk. Belkis: It’s very sad, because monkeys go with the mom for at least two years before to be independent. And this little baby didn’t have anything to hold onto. So I started to read a lot about monkeys and their development, especially Capuchins. Allen: I knew that he needed to hold something right away, because monkeys are — that’s how they survive — by holding. So we got him a stuffed animal, and I got him a walrus. It had a nice texture. The hair had to be a certain length that he could really grab onto. And I could also stick my hand inside and sort of make it feel alive to him. Belkis: In general, Allen is the one who became his guardian, his … This figure. Allen: I wasn’t looking for it, but it just felt natural to really … fall in love with this creature and take care of him. I thought about putting him in different stuffed toys. I thought about making him up like a cat and getting cat’s — like a cat makeup. I thought about burying him in my wife’s stomach. She would be a pregnant mother going through the gate. And if she was to be X-rayed, she would have a little fetus. It might look a little bit like a monkey fetus. But probably the best thing would be to put him in a cat, get a Hollywood artist to make him look like a cat, and get a cat permit. I said to him, I don’t want anything to do with that. I simply was saying how crazy, and far-fetched, and kind of ridiculous the idea was. I was so terrified that, you know … he’s going to go to jail or something. Allen: I put him in the inside pocket of my sport jacket. I kept him up all night before the flight, so he would sleep, and he slept the whole flight. Belkis: You know, JFK, they had dogs searching for drugs. So he was lucky. We made a beeline for a yellow taxi and jumped in, took Benjamin out of the bag. Said, “Welcome to New York, Benjamin.” It was something I needed at that point in my life too, I guess. Belkis: I heard stories in the past how difficult it is to raise a wild animal. But at this point, we didn’t have any other option. [music]