Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1900.001.059 |
Object Name |
Painting |
Collection |
Statehouse Artwork Collection/Governors' Portraits |
Title |
Portrait of Michael DiSalle |
Artist |
Wilson, David Philip, 1902-1981 |
Date |
1970 |
Description |
Bust portrait of Ohio's 60th governor, Michael DiSalle (1959-1963). He wears a blue suit with a white shirt and a mottled blue tie. He has a folded white handkerchief in his breast pocket. The background is brownish red. |
Material |
Oil Paint/Canvas/Wood |
Notes |
Michael DiSalle was born on January 6, 1908, in New York, New York. When DiSalle was three years old, his family moved to Toledo, Ohio, where Michael attended both public and religious schools. Desiring to become a lawyer, DiSalle attended Georgetown University, graduating in 1931. He soon thereafter passed the Ohio Bar exam and began practicing law in Toledo in 1932. DiSalle also sought a political career. As a teenager, DiSalle served as president of the Toledo Junior Safety Council. In 1936, he won election to the Ohio House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party. In 1938, he received his party's nomination for a seat in the Ohio Senate, but DiSalle lost the election soundly. Undaunted by his Senate defeat, DiSalle became active in Toledo politics. Over the next twelve years (1938-1950), DiSalle served one term as the city's mayor, two terms as vice-mayor, five terms as city councilman, and three years as Toledo's assistant law director. In these various positions, DiSalle dramatically improved life in Toledo, including helping to eliminate the city's debt. As mayor, DiSalle won election as chairperson of the Advisory Board of the United States Conference of Mayors. In 1950, DiSalle won election to a second term as Toledo's mayor, but he resigned from office that same year to become the United States' Director of Price Stabilization, a position that he held for two years. In 1952, DiSalle ran for a seat in the United States Senate, but the Republican candidate, John W. Bricker, easily defeated him. DiSalle resumed his law practice in Toledo, but remained active in politics, unsuccessfully running for Ohio's governor's seat in 1956. In 1958, DiSalle again ran for governor. This time he easily defeated the incumbent, C. William O'Neill, by approximately 450,000 votes. Inaugurated as Ohio's sixtieth governor on January 12, 1959, DiSalle faced tremendous opposition from the predominantly Republican Ohio legislature. Nevertheless, the governor succeeded in increasing taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, gasoline, and corporations, while lowering sales taxes on other items. He also attempted to dramatically increase state expenditures, including for education, for improvements to the transportation infrastructure, for construction of new mental hospitals and correctional facilities, and for expanding the Ohio Highway Patrol. This angered many Ohioans - especially Republicans. In 1961, the Republican-controlled legislature rejected the governor's spending proposals, prompting DiSalle to veto the entire appropriations bill. Eventually, the legislature passed a smaller appropriations bill, but that bill left out many of the governor's projects. The first governor to be elected to a four-year term due to a constitutional amendment in 1954, DiSalle originally declared that he would not seek reelection in 1962. He changed his mind, however. In this election, the Republican candidate, James A. Rhodes, soundly defeated DiSalle by approximately 550,000 votes. Upon completion of his term in office, DiSalle resumed his legal career, establishing law offices in both Columbus, Ohio, and in Washington, DC. He also invested money in several newspapers and radio stations. DiSalle died on September 14, 1981. |
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." This portrait was painted and signed by David Philip Wilson in 1970. In a Ohio Historical Society publication, "Echoes," an article states "Portraits of four recent governors have been added to the gallery of governors' portraits in the State House, Columbus. The oil paintings are of Frank J. Lausche, governor, 1945-47, 1949-57; John W. Brown, January 3-14, 1957; C.William O'Neill, 1957-1959; and Michael V. DiSalle, 1959-1963. Each subject is represented as he appeared when in office. The Ohio Historical Society commissioned the paintings from Worthington, Ohio, artist David Philip Wilson. A portrait of Governor James A. Rhodes is in preparation. It will complete the collection of sixty-one former governors." The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board took over the care of the Statehouse and its collections in 1988. |
Image size |
29-3/4" x 25" |
Frame size |
34" x 29-1/2" |
Frame desc |
Second-half twentieth century cove-molded gilt frame. |
People |
DiSalle, Michael V. (Michael Vincent), 1908-1981 Wilson, David Philip, 1902-1981 |
Search Terms |
Ohio Governor Ohio Governor's Portraits |
Subjects |
Governors Painting Portrait paintings |