Buying my work should qualify as an “official duty.”
From Nick Budnick’s article “A Rebel’s Rise” in the Portland Tribune 11 December 2008:
The story of a portrait that city Commissioner Randy Leonard for months had hung on his wall at City Hall speaks volumes about the man. For one thing, most people don’t buy portraits of themselves; even fewer possess the cheek—or sense of humor—to display them in public. For another, the stocky former firefighter paid for the $750 portrait with campaign funds, money that by law is supposed to be used either for campaigning—or for elected officials’ expenses “if directly related to … official duties.”
The painting, which Leonard says was purchased to help a struggling artist, was nowhere to be found on a recent visit to his office. Leonard and his staff speculated that it had been stolen, perhaps as a prank by Mayor-elect Sam Adams.
I painted the portrait for my 2005 Public Faces series, and showed it a second time last March at City Hall as part of the Keep Portland Weird exhibition. It was after the latter show that Leonard bought the painting.
Gwenn Seemel
Randy Leonard
2005
acrylic on canvas
24 x 18 inches
And, for the record, the Commissioner bargained me down from my asking price. See? He was concerned about using the funds appropriately—or at least using as little of them as possible inappropriately!
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CATEGORIES: - Philosophy - On portraiture -
(3) Comments / Commentaires: Buying my work should qualify as an “official duty.”
How the portrait is paid for depends on which official is being portrayed. I know that Secretaries and the like often use taxpayer’s money to pay for their portraits, and there was a bit of a stink about that recently. On the other hand, the White House portraits of President and Mrs. Bush which were unveiled a few weeks ago at the National Portrait Gallery were paid for by donations solicited specifically for the paintings (see the Smithsonian’s blog for more information).
All of which is to say that I don’t know what the rules are for Portland City Commissioners! I intended to add a little bit of insider information—and some levity—to Budnick’s commentary.
O, and my portrait wasn’t an official portrait either…!
pterable...
It is my understanding that official portraits are paid for by donations and campaign funds are donations. It is my belief that paying for an official portrait with campaign funds is within the law. I would like to hear if this is indeed correct.
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