Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2017.007.003 |
Object Name |
Portrait |
Collection |
Statehouse Artwork Collection |
Title |
Vernal G. Riffe, Jr. (1975-1995) |
Artist |
Greene, Daniel |
Date |
2017 |
Description |
Portrait of former Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, Vernal G. Riffe Jr. Riffe is depicted in the Ohio Statehouse wearing a navy suit with a red, blue, and gray striped tie. He is holding the speaker's gavel in his left hand with his right hand placed on top. |
Dimensions |
H-37 W-33 inches |
Material |
Canvas/Paint |
Notes |
Vernal G. Riffe, Jr. was born in 1925, in New Boston, Ohio. A Democrat, Riffe represented Ohio's 92nd district. He served in the Ohio House from 1959 until 1994, when he retired. Riffe became Speaker of the Ohio House in 1975. He held this office for twenty years, longer than any other Speaker in Ohio history. Riffe received numerous honors for his contributions to the state, including the Vernal Riffe Chair in the Political Science Department at The Ohio State University. He also had several buildings named in his honor, including one at Ohio State; the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts in Columbus; and the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts at Shawnee State University. Riffe died on July 31, 1997 in Columbus, Ohio. |
Inscription Location |
Bottom left corner |
Inscription Text |
Daniel Greene 2017 |
Provenance |
In 2016, The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board was given an increase in appropriation from the 131st Ohio General Assembly via Sub. H.B 390 for the commissioning and acquisition of art for the Ohio Statehouse. Those funds were used to pay for the portraits of former Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives. A small donation was made to the Capitol Square Foundation for the portrait project. The result was seven portraits that were funded by a public-private partnership between the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board and the Capitol Square Foundation. The artists were chosen by the Statehouse Art Committee to create the portraits which were unveiled in a ceremony on May 23, 2017 in the Statehouse Rotunda. The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board took over the care of the Statehouse and its collections in 1988. |
Image size |
24.5" x 29.5" |
Frame size |
37" x 33" |
People |
Riffe, Vernal G., 1925-1997 |
Search Terms |
Ohio Speaker of the House Ohio Speaker's Portraits |
Subjects |
Painting Portrait paintings State government |