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GREENSBORO — Marty Sheets’ Uncle Bob calls him “a piece of history.”

Now, he’s a piece of art.

The longtime Special Olympian was one of five people chosen to be in a portrait with Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of former President John F. Kennedy.

“Fantastic!” David Sheets said of his son’s accomplishment. “It was out of 3.1 million Special Olympic athletes in the world, and he was going to be one of them.”

The portrait honors Shriver and her efforts to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

She founded the Special Olympics, and Sheets received his first gold medal from her at the first Special Olympics in 1968.

Marty Sheets, 56, has Down syndrome. He lives with his parents, David and Iris, in Greensboro.

The painting was unveiled and installed May 9 in the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution. Shriver, her children and the artist, David Lenz, attended.

David Sheets said he cried after viewing the 4-foot-by-7-foot oil painting.

Afterward, he hugged his son and said, “We’re really, really proud of you.”

Marty Sheets has competed in local, state, national and international contests as a swimmer, snow skier, weightlifter, and golfer.

He has worked at Macy’s department store for 35 years and lends his time to fundraisers dedicated to helping the intellectually challenged.

Sheets has won several public service awards, including the state’s highest award presented by the governor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

“Once in a while, it just hits us,” David Sheets said. “Marty — because of Mrs. Shriver — has all these wonderful things that have taken place in our lives.”

The portrait is the first commissioned by the museum of someone other than a president or first lady.

The museum commissioned Lenz as part of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2006 prize.

“I think it’s nice,” Marty Sheets said of the portrait.

The painting, titled “Rare Halo Display: A Portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver,” depicts her on the sand near her home in Cape Cod.

“The clouds are up there, then all of a sudden the kids come into the light,” Iris Sheets said. “That’s just the story of the Special Olympics.”

In the portrait, Shriver pats Sheets on the back as he looks straight ahead. The other four people are looking toward the water.

“We speculate it’s because he was there way back then, and she’s looking at him, saying 'Look how far we’ve come,’ ” David Sheets said.

Given Marty Sheets’ many accounts of world travel, there is no telling where he’s going.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sheets said. “I wish I knew.”

Contact Dioni L. Wise at 373-7090 or dioni.wise@news-record.com