Indiana’s gubernatorial portraits get a new home in Statehouse hallways

Indiana’s governors are moving out of their offices — at least on canvas.

Official gubernatorial portraits that have hung inside state offices or spent time in storage are being gathered for a long-term display in the Statehouse’s public hallways, giving visitors a chance to see the former Hoosier leaders without having to track them all down.

The official portrait collection includes 50 paintings — not including pre-1816 territorial leaders. Installation is still underway, said Jessica Roeder, deputy chief of staff for operations in the governor’s office.

The broader collection also includes four additional portraits by T.C. Steele, commissioned for Indiana’s 1916 centennial, depicting William Henry Harrison, Jonathan Jennings, Oliver Perry Morton and Thomas A. Hendricks.

At least one will remain on display in the Gov. Mike Braun’s office. Roeder said Steele’s painting of Morton has replaced Morton’s official portrait above the fireplace.

The project will bring all of the official gubernatorial portraits into public areas on the second, third and fourth floors of the capitol, with historical placards still to follow.

“We thought, ‘What if we just put all the governors up — not just the most recent six in the governor’s office for the tour desk to share?’” Roeder said, recalling discussions behind the project. “We want to put them all out so that, as people are walking around, they can they can take a look and see if they know all their governors.”

The idea grew out of watching visitors come through the governor’s office, a regular stop for Statehouse tours. Recent governors’ portraits traditionally hung in the lobby, while others were displayed farther inside.

But access to the paintings could depend on what was happening that day.

“Sometimes there are meetings in the governor’s office, so tours don’t actually get to go in,” Roeder said. “Sometimes they do, and a lot of groups really love that.”

Large school groups pose another challenge, she added. Moving several busloads of students through the office can be difficult — especially during the legislative session, when many groups visit.

Other portraits were scattered among various state offices, including the State Budget Agency. Some were separately in the Indiana State Museum’s storage.

“It’s nice for people to see the history, and there are so many beautiful walls in the Statehouse with some decorative details, but they don’t have anything hanging in them,” Roeder said. “It’ll be really nice to have them all out there.”

Museum staff, who care for the portraits, have been checking the paintings and preparing them for the move. They also worked with the Indiana Department of Administration to evaluate display locations and make sure the artwork could be safely housed, Roeder said.

The portraits will hang high enough to help protect them from visitors’ hands, with the accompanying placards lower so people can read them. The layout also leaves room for future governors’ portraits.

More recent paintings began going up first on the second floor. The work involves transporting the artwork in batches and staging it downstairs before it is hung.

There is no firm completion date. Roeder said the governor’s office would prefer to have the portraits up before the end of the year, but the schedule depends on the museum’s workload. An announcement is planned after the display is finished.

The project gives a more accessible home to a tradition that began in 1869, when then-Gov. Conrad Baker set out to collect likenesses of the 17 governors who preceded him. Artists relied on sittings with surviving governors and images supplied by families to help fill in the earlier years.

The portraits have since recorded more than a succession of officeholders. Clothing, poses and objects offer glimpses of how governors wanted to be remembered.

Mitch Daniels appears without a suit jacket, a pen in hand. Mike Pence sits on his desk with law books, a family portrait and a Bible nearby.

Eric Holcomb’s portrait, unveiled in December 2024, includes cowboy boots, an Ohio River view from Hanover College and a family photograph featuring his wife, Janet, and former First Dog Henry.

Painted by Hoosier artist Russell Recchion, it also includes a globe — a reference to Holcomb’s international travels as governor — with Indiana facing forward.

Visitors will eventually have more help learning about the people behind the paintings.

Six fellows working in the governor’s office are researching and writing the historical placards, each taking a group of governors and working with state museum experts, Roeder said. The paintings are expected to be installed before the placards.

Staff have also discussed a possible scavenger hunt for kids. More details to come, Roeder said.

In the meantime, she hopes students will recognize a governor they researched in school, while other visitors might pause on their way to a meeting to learn something about a former executive.

“Hopefully, any visitor that comes or anyone that works in the Statehouse is able to view the governors and learn a little bit more about them,” Roeder said. “And now, as time passes, there won’t be any governors going into storage anymore.”