The Oregon State Capitol Foundation seeks help tracking governors’ portraits.
SALEM, OR. 15 Sept. 2022 —In an effort to help preserve our state’s history and make it accessible to Oregonians, educators, art enthusiasts, history buffs, and others, the Oregon State Capitol Foundation is launching the Governors’ Portraits Search to locate and catalog missing portraits of former Oregon governors.
“We know that many oil paintings of territorial and state governors were lost when the Capitol burned in 1935, but we also know that some were saved from the blaze,” said Joan Plank, a member of the Capitol Foundation Board.
“My grandfather, Arch Geer, whom I called Pappy, helped rescue portraits of governors from the walls of the burning building, including that of Governor Geer, but it disappeared. Years later, Pappy found Geer’s portrait in Walden Hall at Willamette University. After its restoration, the painting ended up in the Geer Building at the MacLaren School and eventually returned to the Capitol.”
Last year, the Capitol Foundation learned that Claire Withycombe, great-great-granddaughter of Governor James Withycombe, discovered an official portrait of the former governor hanging in her grandmother’s home. While it is unknown whether this portrait, painted during Governor Withycombe’s term, ever hung in the Capitol, its discovery gives us hope that other works of art depicting former Oregon governors may still exist.
The Capitol Foundation is seeking assistance in locating official portraits of former Oregon governors. While the public can schedule an appointment to view the paintings and busts of some former Oregon governors on display in the State Archives Administrative Suite during the Capitol’s construction, others may be in private homes, schools, universities, museums, businesses, courthouses, or public buildings.
Bruce Bishop, a board member of the Capitol Foundation, said, “We want to know about the portraits so we can document their existence.” The nonprofit organization does not want to claim the portraits and will retain the artworks’ locations in private residences.
“We know where some portraits and busts are located, but around 27 portraits are missing. With each portrait we locate, we discover interesting stories about the governor or the portrait itself. It’s a great way to learn more about Oregon history,” Bishop said.
If you have information about the location of any of the missing portraits, please contact OSCF at oscf@oregoncapitolfoundation.org or 503-363-1859.
For more information about the Oregon State Capitol Foundation, visit www.oregoncapitolfoundation.org.
