Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s official portrait, painted by Virginia artist Jonathan Linton, hangs in the Governor’s Gallery at the Virginia State Capitol. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin left office in January, but you can still see him every day in the Virginia State Capitol.
You’ll find him on the third floor in the Governor’s Gallery, where portraits of the 16 most recent chief executives are displayed in chronological order. You might do a double take on entering the room, because Youngkin’s recently unveiled official portrait is so realistic, it’s as if he were really there.
The portraits of the governors in the gallery move one space on the walls each time the latest is added; a portrait is retired after a complete rotation, decades later. Youngkin’s is the newest addition to the collection, taking the place of Gov. Thomas Bahnson Stanley (1954-58). The portrait of former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder (1990-94), the country’s first elected Black governor, is among the paintings now on display, and a painting of Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Virginia’s first woman governor, will be added to the exhibit at the end of her term.
“The governor selects and works with the artist on his or her portrayal,” explains Alicia Starliper, visual studies collection registrar for the Library of Virginia. “The General Assembly appropriates a sum sufficient for the costs of the artist, the frame and the framing.” Starliper manages acquisitions, loans and collections care — including research, inventory, maintenance and conservation — for the state art collection.
(From left) Linton and his wife, Julie, with Suzanne and Glenn Youngkin at the portrait unveiling in December (Official photo by Lori Massengill, Office of Gov. Glen Youngkin)
Virginia artist Jonathan Linton created Youngkin’s portrait. Linton began painting and received formal art instruction as a child; studied sculpture and painting at Brigham Young University; and trained in Florence, Italy, and at the Art Students League in New York City.
He says that, from the initial sitting with Youngkin to the unveiling, the process took approximately seven months. “I loved working with the governor and his office. They were so respectful of the process and knowledgeable about the power of art.”
Most of Linton’s commissioned portraits are oil on linen, though certain techniques benefit from acrylics, so occasionally he incorporates them.
“My reference process begins with an in-person sitting, which allows me to observe the subject’s presence, gestures and expressions firsthand,” he explains. “From there, I work from a carefully curated combination of photographic references and, often, studies made from life.”
Linton notes that he didn’t work continuously for seven months. “Painting requires both intense focus and deliberate pauses,” he says. “Those breaks are essential for making the best decisions and seeing the painting with fresh eyes. Capturing a subject faithfully isn’t about copying a photograph; it’s about understanding and remembering the person, how they carry themselves and what’s important to them. It’s about designing a composition and using deliberate strokes and forms to convey a presence, not just a likeness.”
Along the way, the artist checked in several times with Youngkin and his wife, Suzanne, to make sure they were happy with the painting as it progressed. He shares the process of painting the portrait and comments from the former first couple in a video on his website.
“To be included in a collection that represents public service, leadership and Virginia’s history is a profound honor,” Linton says. “To have this work displayed alongside portraits by artists I admire is also deeply meaningful.”
Alicia Starliper of the Library of Virginia (Photo by Jay Paul)
The Library of Virginia cares for the official portraits of the commonwealth’s governors, along with an estimated 500 paintings, sculptures and original works of art on paper, most dating from the 18th century to modern times, that make up the state art collection. “Busts of Virginia-born presidents, paintings of landscapes and iconic statuary, like the large-scale Washington equestrian on Capitol Square, are part of the collection,” Starliper says.
The assemblage includes 103 portraits of past governors of Virginia. “This includes most of the 74 governors elected by popular vote since 1852, as well as earlier appointed, acting or Colonial governors,” Starliper says, adding that the collection lacks six portraits: governors Beverley Randolph (1788-91), Robert Brooke (1794-96), and James Wood (1796-99) and acting governors Hardin Burnley (1799), John Pendleton (1799), and Peyton Randolph (1811-12).
The process of commissioning governors’ portraits was not formalized until 1938, Starliper says. Since then, usually at the beginning of a governor’s final year in office, the General Assembly passes a joint resolution appointing a committee for the purpose of commissioning a portrait of the outgoing governor.
Portraits of former Virginia chief executives Tim Kaine, Mark Warner and Jim Gilmore in the Governor’s Gallery (Photo by Jay Paul)
While security measures and environmental data are restricted information, Virginians can be sure the collection — including the governors’ portraits — is in good hands. “Each object tells a story, and it is amazing how those stories continue to evolve today. I’m honored to care for this incredible collection and facilitate public access,” Starliper says.
The creator of the most recent addition to the collection expresses a similar sentiment. “I’ve always been drawn to people,” Linton says. He remembers sketching his father’s profile in church at age 7, which is also when he started oil painting; getting his first commissions at age 11; and, as a high school senior, painting the portrait that later became the cover of a bestselling children’s book. “Portraiture felt like a natural and enduring way to create art that celebrates human connection and achievement. When we choose to preserve a life through art, we’re saying that it matters to us, and it matters that future generations will be able to see, interpret and enjoy what the portrait communicates.”
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