Statehouse has portraits of 35 governors; a dozen are still being sought
By Justin A. Hinkley
Lansing State Journal
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - On a wall of mostly straightforward faces and few splashes of color, the face of Gov. John Swainson stands out: scratched, distorted, somehow simultaneously ghostly and cheerful.
While warm tones in the paintings of most of his predecessors and successors relax visitors to the Capitol rotunda, Swainson stands kinetically on the noisy black-and-white checkers of the Capitol floor, the Lansing State Journal reported.
The portrait itself has a story: Controversial for its highly stylized appearance, the artist, Pablo Davis, was associated with Diego Rivera, famed for the "Detroit Industry" murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Rivera was also a known communist and here was Davis, painting a man who led Michigan at the height of the Cold War.
But more important than that story, Capitol historian Valerie Marvin said, is the way that history connects to modern Michiganders.
"Wounded Warrior" Swainson walked on wooden prosthetics, thanks to a World War II injury, and made disabled Michiganders his personal cause as governor. Standing near the warrior's portrait on a recent Tuesday, Marvin recalled giving a Capitol tour to a woman whose sister had a limb amputated at a Lansing hospital and was visited and heartened by Swainson.
"What's cool about these portraits, to me," said Kerry Chartkoff, the Capitol historian emeritus, "is they actually tell you so much about this state and the people in it and their aspiration."
That is why the statehouse staff is celebrating the recent donation of a 19th-Century portrait of territorial governor George Bryan Porter, bringing to 35 the number of governors represented at the Capitol.
But, in a state that's never had a formal process for acquiring portraits of its leaders, a dozen governors - and their stories, our stories - are still missing from the Capitol. And Marvin and Chartkoff would love for them to come home.
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When they come, the missing governors will have to come the way Porter did, as a gift to the state.
Porter was named territorial governor by President Andrew Jackson in August 1831, and he served until his death in July 1834. His short tenure and the nearly two centuries passed were "not a good recipe for a surviving portrait," Chartkoff said.
But Barbara Livy had one, an oil on canvas done by famed artist Jacob Eichholtz. Rebecca Beal, an Eichholtz scholar, believes the governor's portrait was done around 1836 as a posthumous salute.
Livy had grown up with the painting, which was owned by her parents, Adolph and Ginger Meyer, of Bloomfield Hills, noted collectors who once helped Jackie Kennedy redecorate the White House.
Moving into a smaller living space, Livy wanted the painting to have a proper home. She made the donation on three conditions: that the portrait never be sold, that it never be put in storage, and that it be displayed in a dignified manner.
"And I assured her we could hit the ball out of the park on all three," Chartkoff said.
The portrait is now with Ken Katz, conservator at Conservation & Museum Services in Detroit, who has restored most of the older portraits at the Capitol.
Katz said the painting was "disfigured and damaged," with a layer of grime, dirt and varnish, a small tear that wasn't ideally repaired, and an abrasion from a past restoration. All of it can be fixed, he said, with about 60 hours of work. Porter could come home to Lansing within five weeks.
Katz said the Porter portrait is a fine example of the historic works he said provide "a sense of what people thought back then.
"The reason why we're called conservators and not restorers is because we're trying to keep a part of our culture and history alive," he said.
When he returns to the Capitol, Porter will be mounted outside the governor's parlor on the east side of the second floor.
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The Gallery of Governors is one of the greater success stories of the 1990s restoration to the 136-year-old statehouse, Chartkoff said.
Before the restoration that made the Capitol a National Historic Landmark, the building was treated like any other office facility, and its historic charm was abused. When the restoration kicked off in the late 1980s, Chartkoff was given what she called "orphan projects," including the gubernatorial portraits.
At the time, the Capitol had 29 portraits, but there were rumors of many more. In 1989, Chartkoff started a portrait task force and, working with the Michigan Historical Museum, identified another 20 that were tucked away in state storage. They were restored and the gallery was salvaged.
Today, 50 portraits are displayed throughout the Capitol, 37 of which are governors. Some chief executives - Russell Alger, Henry Baldwin, and Lewis Cass - have multiple representations, so only 34 governors are represented. There's room for only 14 governors in the rotunda, moving on a rotation, and the rest are displayed in other public spaces.
The other portraits are senators and others of historical importance to the state, including one of President Gerald Ford visible as soon as the elevator doors open on the second floor.
Unlike some other states, "there is no statute or written rule" that Michigan governors must provide portraits, and it's up to the executives themselves or their supporters to raise funds and have the portraits commissioned, Chartkoff said.
That lack of officialdom means Michigan's collection "is not boring," Chartkoff said. Without official state painters, you get Davis' unique image of Swainson and its flurry of metaphor: Swainson was young when he lost to Gov. George Romney after only two years, and Davis painted Swainson's face unfinished because his political career was unfinished.
But the lack of officialdom also means the collection is incomplete. It wasn't until the 1950s that the tradition of governors providing portraits was cemented, so earlier portraits are often missing.
As are the stories those portraits tell: A mirage of the Mackinac Bridge rises behind Gov. G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams in his portrait, symbolizing the signature accomplishment of our 41st governor. Thus began a tradition of symbolism in the portraits that led to a small car in Gov. Jennifer Granholm's portrait symbolizing the rescue of the auto industry late in her term.
Now is a good time for the statehouse staff to begin expanding their collection. Restoration stalled for a decade during the worst years for the state's economy, but the State Capitol Commission has become increasingly active after a summer 2014 law gave the statehouse its first dedicated funding source. That means a stable budget for maintaining the building and its portraits.
So the commission is ready for its 12 missing governors to come home and "connect us to Michigan's history," Marvin said.
And the commission already is thinking about Gov. Rick Snyder's portrait joining the family: He'll go where Soapy is now on the second floor, Soapy will move up to the space currently occupied by Gov. Wilber Brucker on the third floor, and Brucker will be moved elsewhere in the building.
Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said commissioning a portrait is on the governor's radar, and there have already been offers, but the governor and his team "still have three and half years and are focused on keeping and accelerating the state's comeback and ensuring opportunities and strong quality of life for Michiganders," Wurfel said.
Published: Tue, Sep 01, 2015
