Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

politics

Official Gov. Daniels portrait unveiled

Daniels

The official portrait of Gov. Mitch Daniels was unveiled during a ceremony Tuesday at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.

The portrait, which was revealed by first lady Cheri Daniels and Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, will become part of the governor’s portrait collection maintained by the Indiana State Museum, also in Indianapolis, according to a press release.

“I hope that long after anybody can name the person in this portrait, young people of today and those who were

adults when it happened will look back and say this was a time of action and turning a corner in Indiana, where a lot of good people came to do the citizens’ job,
a job once described as ‘the rent we owe this country,’” Gov. Daniels said in the
release.

Richard Halstead, originally of Lafayette, was selected from six finalists during a competitive process last year to paint Daniels’ official portrait.

To prepare, Halstead said in the release he met with people who described the governor’s personality in diverse ways, from high-energy to contemplative.

“The governor’s only request for the portrait was that it not be artificial or unnatural,” Halstead said in the release. “That was in keeping with comments I heard from others who emphasized his genuineness and authenticity.”

Halstead currently lives in Evanston, Ill., where he teaches portraiture classes, according to the release.

He has more than 30 years of experience, and his work has reached the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

Halstead said he hopes the portrait will give its audience a lasting image of the governor’s character and how he impacted the Hoosier state.

“My image of the governor has grown in its complexity and my appreciation,” Halstead said. “I hope you see that in the portrait.”

— Mark Keierleber

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe