Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1900.001.007 |
Object Name |
Painting |
Collection |
Statehouse Artwork Collection/Governors' Portraits |
Title |
Portrait of Othniel Looker |
Artist |
Van Loo, Leon, 1841-1907 |
Date |
1870 |
Description |
Right-facing, three-quarter bust portrait of Ohio's fifth governor Othniel Looker (1814). Looker is seen wearing a dark jacket with three gold buttons, a gold vest, and a white shirt. He has dark hair and sideburns. |
Notes |
Othniel Looker (1757-1845) served as the fifth governor of Ohio for eight months in 1814. Born in New York, Looker moved to Ohio in 1804, serving in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1807- 1810 and in the Ohio State Senate from 1810-1817. While serving as Speaker of the Ohio Senate (1813-1814), Looker was elevated to the governorship after Governor Return J. Meigs, Jr. resigned to become Postmaster General. Looker served from April 14th to December 8th, 1814. He sought re-election but was defeated by Thomas Worthington of Chillicothe. He died in 1845 in Illinois. |
Provenance |
In 1867, the Ohio General Assembly passed a joint resolution relative to the governors of Ohio. The legislators resolved that "the secretary of state, on the first Monday of January next, whether the portraits of the governors of Ohio, state and territorial, can be procured, and if so, whether original portraits or copies, and the probable expense of procuring such portraits for the governor's office." William Henry Smith, Ohio's sixteenth secretary of state, was tasked with contacting the descendants of all governors to date. He corresponded with families and sometimes traveled the country to meet them. The Ohio Executive Documents and Annual Reports list a payment of $227.00 on March 17, 1871 to Leon Van Loo for a portrait of ex-governor Othniel Looker. The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board took over the care of the Statehouse and its collections in 1988. |
Image size |
30" x 25" |
Frame size |
34" x 29" |
Frame desc |
Twentieth century gilt frame with carved beaded liner |
People |
Looker, Othniel, 1757-1845 Smith, William Henry, 1833-1896 Van Loo, Leon, 1841-1907 |
Search Terms |
Ohio Governor Ohio Governor's Portraits |
Subjects |
Governors Painting Portrait paintings |