A Minnesota artist for a Minnesota governor?

Posted at 12:38 PM on December 22, 2010 by Marianne Combs (5 Comments)
Filed under: Painting, People

Minnesota artist Carl Bohnen painting a portrait of Governor Theodore Christianson
Image courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

As soon as I posted the news late yesterday that Governor Pawlenty had chosen Rossin to paint his official gubernatorial portrait, I started getting comments - via Facebook, MPR e-mail, and in person - questioning the decision. There are plenty of Minnesota artists who do portraits - so why not keep the tax dollars funding the painting (which is costing $25-30,000) in the state by hiring a Minnesotan?

Now I knew that Governor Ventura had also gone beyond the state borders to find the artist who painted his portrait (Arizona native and California resident Stephen Cepello), but I wondered, how many other governors had made this same choice?

Not many, according to the Minnesota Historical Society's art curator Brian Szott. Szott did me the favor of digging into the MHS archives, and found that only one other governor - Orville Freeman - was painted by a non-Minnesotan (Hungarian born portrait artist Elisabeth Mihalyi). In one other instance, for Governor Luther Youngdahl's portrait, it is unclear if the artist Louis A. Grendahl was ever a Minnesota resident.

So out of 39 governors, three (possibly four) chose to go outside the state of Minnesota to find a portrait artist. Why? Is it because we're now living in a more globalized society? (not likely - Orville Freeman served in 1955) Is it a political thing? (also unlikely, since those who chose non-Minnesotans were a democrat, an independent and a republican, respectively). Or were they concerned about their image at the national level? Hmm....

I've put a query into the Governor's Office to ask for Pawlenty's reasoning, and I'll post it here as soon as I get a response.

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Comments (5)

...or perhaps he just liked the artist?

Posted by Jim B. | December 22, 2010 1:01 PM

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Good point, Jim. Can a state governor, when choosing the artist who will paint the portrait that will hang in the halls of the Minnesota capitol building, have the option to just pick an artist they like, or are they supposed to make a "politically savvy" choice? Also, could a governor get away with picking an artist who's not strictly representational/traditional?

Posted by Marianne Combs | December 22, 2010 2:09 PM

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Out in California, Jerry Brown went for a less traditional portrait after he was first governor from 1975 to 1983. This one stood out for me when I toured the Capitol building in Sacramento. You can see it here.

Posted by Barbara D. | December 22, 2010 3:26 PM

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Barbara - thanks so much for the link! I actually love the portrait - interesting that it's so unpopular.

Posted by Marianne Combs | December 23, 2010 8:04 AM

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Hi, Marianne,

I'm a tour guide at the Walker, so I like this portrait of Jerry Brown, too. It was recognizable, but also had a lot of life and style. It felt contemporary!

The popularity question is interesting. There is scrutiny because public funds are spent on the work, which seems to favor conservative styles. I would like to see something more adventurous, but I am sure many others would not.

I do think it would have a been a nice move to select a local artist. Someone like Paul Oxborough would fill the bill with his classical style. Check out his portrait of Leon Hushcha.

Posted by Barbara D. | December 23, 2010 2:47 PM

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