The State of Connecticut officially embarked upon the acquisition of works of
art in 1800 when the Legislature commissioned a portrait of George Washington
from the Philadelphia artist Gilbert Stuart. In 1830, a likeness of former
governor and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wolcott, Jr. was presented to the
State and hung in the State House in New Haven.
By the mid-nineteenth century the State had acquired portraits of
numerous former governors and lieutenant governors, including some of
the colonial period. It has become a custom of the Legislature to
appropriate funds to have portraits made of governors after their
departure from office.
The collection of Governors' portraits resided in
the State House until 1878, when the current State Capitol building was
constructed. In 1910, the State Library was completed and the museum's Memorial
Hall became the repository of the collection.
Among the artists whose works are represented in the portrait
collection are Ralph Earle, George Wright, Charles N. Flagg, Deane
Keller, and Herbert Abrams.
