Gov. Andy Beshear’s official portrait unveiled at State Capitol

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) — Gov. Andy Beshear’s official portrait was unveiled Thursday at the Kentucky State Capitol.

The portrait will reside there until it’s transferred to the Kentucky Hall of Governors at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in downtown Frankfort at the end of his term in office.

The portrait was painted by Louisville artist Melanie Harding Bates.

She said she was honored to have been chosen to paint the portrait and it “has been a dream of hers for as long as she can remember.”

The Kentucky Historical Society began collecting items of significance in 1878. In 1897, Gov. William O. Bradley requested portraits of several previous governors for display in his office. In 1909, the director of KHS commissioned more paintings of past governors.

This collection would eventually become the Kentucky Hall of Governors.