The first official gubernatorial portrait of Jerry Brown by portrait artist Don Bachardy was painted and unveiled in 1984. The painting commemorated American politician Jerry Brown's first two terms as Governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and has remained controversial since its unveiling.
The painting diverged from the formal style that characterizes many official paintings of politicians. [1] Brown said of his portrait that it looked "unfinished" and reflected his "unfinished work while in office." [2] The Sacramento Bee, in an online guide to the California State Capitol said that "Between calm and conservative portraits of his peers, Brown's face peers out of gray bars and drips of red paint." [1] Critics of the portrait described it as "abstract", "cubist" or "expressionistic", though as the authors of the United States Senate Catalogue of Fine Art wrote "Those are merely code words for ‘modern’—indicating not what Brown's portrait is, but what it is not", emphasizing the fact that the painting is not a classic, formal portrait. [1]
The unfinished look of the painting was commented on by Bachardy himself—he said that it stemmed from his difficulty in "capturing" Brown during their five sittings. Of his technique Bachardy said, "Some people are restless and I have to get into their rhythm...I’ll just hope to get something essential. You boil it down to the most crucial parts of the face and get the living quality. And sometimes that essence can be achieved in just a few moments." [3]
In his journal Stars in My Eyes, Bachardy wrote that he found it difficult working on the portrait because of Brown's "defensiveness" and apparent unease with the project. [2] Bachardy said the sittings were "an ordeal for both of us and made me wish that I could find a way to get my kicks without suffering such stress." [2] Each of the five sittings produced a portrait. It was not until the middle of the fifth and final sitting that Bachardy told Brown how difficult his restlessness was making the work. Brown expressed surprise but then transformed his sitting-style into one of co-operation and stillness to a degree that "nearly unnerved" the painter. The final portrait, called by Bachardy Jerry Brown V, was completed in about three hours on 2 February 1984. It was agreed to be the best of the five. [4]
Bachardy was paid $13,000 ($37,000 today) for the portrait. [5]
California legislators described the portrait as looking like "spilled ketchup and soy sauce", referring to Bachardy's use of broad brush strokes for Brown's orange and red skin tones. [6]
The portrait was intended to be hung on the first floor of the California State Capitol with the other gubernatorial portraits, but the Joint Rules Committee of California State Assembly voted that it be displayed on a third-floor stairwell, following an eight-minute debate. [6] The Democratic California legislator Lou Papan said that the portrait was "very well done ... it captures a lot of the expressions we all remember", to which a fellow Democratic legislator sarcastically replied, "Yeah, like the warmth in his eyes." [6] On the placing of the painting Bachardy remarked that "If you saw some of the paintings hanging in the Capitol, you'd see why I am not at all insulted that my portrait of Brown is not among them." [2]
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of State of California in 1970; Brown later served as Mayor of Oakland from 1999 to 2007 and Attorney General of California from 2007 to 2011. He was both the oldest and sixth-youngest governor of California due to the 28-year gap between his second and third terms. Upon completing his fourth term in office, Brown became the fourth longest-serving governor in U.S. history, serving 16 years and 5 days in office.
Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. was an American painter, designer, and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been influential in science fiction art and illustration. A pioneering creator of astronomical art, along with the French astronomer-artist Lucien Rudaux, Bonestell has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Space art".
Gloria Frances Stuart was an American actress, visual artist, and activist. She was known for her roles in Pre-Code films, and garnered renewed fame late in life for her portrayal of Rose Dawson Calvert in James Cameron's epic romance Titanic (1997), the highest-grossing film of all time at the time. Her performance in the film won her a Screen Actors Guild Award and earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.
Charles Thomas Close was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits using a very large format camera. He adapted his painting style and working methods in 1988, after being paralyzed by an occlusion of the anterior spinal artery.
Donald Jess Bachardy is an American portrait artist. He resides in Santa Monica, California. Bachardy was the partner of Christopher Isherwood for over 30 years.
Margaret D. H. Keane was an American artist known for her paintings of subjects with big eyes. She mainly painted women, children, or animals in oil or mixed media. The work achieved commercial success through inexpensive reproductions on prints, plates, and cups. It has been critically acclaimed but also criticized as formulaic and cliché. The artwork was originally attributed to Keane's ex-husband, Walter Keane. After their divorce in the 1960s, Margaret soon claimed credit, which was established after a court "paint-off" in Hawaii.
"Brush with Greatness" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on April 11, 1991. In the episode, Marge enrolls in an art class after Lisa encourages her to revive her former interest in painting. When she wins first prize in a local art competition for a portrait of Homer on the couch in his underwear, Mr. Burns commissions her to paint his portrait. In the subplot, Homer is determined to lose weight after getting stuck in a water slide at an amusement park.
"Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" is a country song about a man away from home who is worried that his paramour may unwittingly stray from their relationship. It was written by Winston L. Moore and published in 1952. The song has been recorded in many different styles by many performers, with Perry Como's version hitting number 1 hit in both the US and UK.
Milton "Shorty" Rogers was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arranger.
Walter Stanley Keane was an American plagiarist who became famous in the 1960s as the claimed painter of a series of widely reproduced paintings depicting vulnerable subjects with enormous eyes. The paintings are now accepted as having been painted by his wife, Margaret Keane. When she told her side of the story, Walter Keane retaliated with a USA Today article that again claimed he had done the work.
The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the Capitol dome, which was built between 1857 and 1866.
The Roulin Family is a group of portrait paintings Vincent van Gogh executed in Arles in 1888 and 1889 of Joseph, his wife Augustine and their three children: Armand, Camille and Marcelle. This series is unique in many ways. Although Van Gogh loved to paint portraits, it was difficult for financial and other reasons for him to find models. So, finding an entire family that agreed to sit for paintings — in fact, for several sittings each — was a bounty.
Pinkie is the traditional title for a portrait made in 1794 by Thomas Lawrence in the permanent collection of the Huntington Library at San Marino, California where it normally hangs opposite The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough. The title now given it by the museum is Sarah Goodin Barrett Moulton: "Pinkie". These two works are the centerpieces of the institution's art collection, which has notable holdings of eighteenth-century British portraiture. The painting is an elegant depiction of Sarah Moulton (1783–1795), who was about eleven years old when painted. Her direct gaze and the loose, energetic brushwork give the portrait a lively immediacy.
John Joseph Kelson Jr., known professionally as Jackie Kelso, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist.
Herbert Arnold Geller was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Chris & Don: A Love Story is a 2007 documentary film that chronicles the lifelong relationship between author Christopher Isherwood and his much younger lover, artist Don Bachardy. Chris & Don combines present-day interviews, archival footage shot by the couple from the 1950s, excerpts from Isherwood's diaries, and playful animations to recount their romance. It was directed by Guido Santi and Tina Mascara, and was the centerpiece film at NewFest, the New York LGBTQ Film Festival, in 2008.
A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today is the twenty-sixth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1977. Even though Haggard had moved to the MCA label, Capitol created this release from tracks previously recorded in 1975 and 1976.
Vincent van Gogh enjoyed making Paintings of Children. He once said that it's the only thing that "excites me to the depths of my soul, and which makes me feel the infinite more than anything else." Painting children, in particular represented rebirth and the infinite. Over his career Van Gogh did not make many paintings of children, but those he completed were special to him. During the ten years of Van Gogh's career as a painter, from 1881 to 1890, his work changed and grew richer, particularly in how he used color and techniques symbolically or evocatively.
The 2014 California gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of California, concurrently with elections for the rest of California's executive branch, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
American Collectors (Fred and Marcia Weisman) is a 1968 painting by British artist David Hockney. The painting is currently in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was accessioned by the museum in 1984 after being donated by Frederic G. Pick and his wife, Frances Weis Pick. The painting depicts Frederick and Marcia Weisman, two American art collectors from Los Angeles.