George N. Drakos owned a fur store in downtown Athens in the 1950's. He took a trip to Kansas City, Missouri, in December 1953 to visit an uncle who had immigrated to the U.S. in the 1930s and who owned several restaurants in the city. One day, as George Drakos and his uncle were walking in Kansas City, his uncle noticed that President Truman was approaching, and pointed him out to George. As they crossed paths, Mr. Drakos, who did not speak English, stopped, doffed his hat and bowed in a show of respect. President Truman stopped and thanked him, and then inquired as to where he was from. His uncle told the President that Mr. Drakos was from Greece and after a short conversation; President Truman extended an invitation to visit him at his home in Independence.

Mr. Drakos and his uncle did subsequently visit President Truman. When they were all seated, Mr. Drakos thanked President Truman for the invitation, saying that he would be forever indebted to the President for his hospitality. When he heard this, President Truman got up from his chair, walked towards Mr. Drakos and shook his hand saying, "No. It is we who will be forever indebted to Greece for giving us democracy." When he heard those words, Mr. Drakos became emotional and promised President Truman that he would send him something to remember Greece by.

When Mr. Drakos returned to Athens, he commissioned a painting of the Acropolis from an Italian landscape painter, Armeno Matteoli, who spent the next two months painting from a vantage point on Filopappou Hill. Mr. Drakos had the finished painting framed and sent to President Truman at his home in Independence, Missouri, and President Truman acknowledged the gift in a letter dated August 26, 1954 to Mr. Drakos.