A Portrait that Captures Clayton Rose and His Legacy

"I love the linearity, I love the way the jacket looks like it could be waves on the water, the cloth could be the sky. There is a conscious and strategic harmonizing of Wurzel's representation of her subject with the environment that he inhabits," she observed.

Goodyear said she also appreciates how the artist captures Rose's "warmth, his interest in engaging with people. Clayton seems to greet us as if we're in front of him." With its bold lighting and colors, Goodyear said the painting "feels like an approachable portrait," much like Rose, himself.

While the Rose portrait is at first glance striking in its uniqueness, the president did follow precedent in one way: he selected an artist based in the Northeast. "Wurzel is someone who has an affinity for light, coastal scenes, and New England in particular," Goodyear said. "She follows in a long line of New England artists who have been called in to depict Bowdoin presidents."

Past portraits of Bowdoin's presidents-all fifteen of them -hang on the second floor of Hubbard Hall. Moving from one to the next offers viewers a chance to stroll through College history.

Goodyear, who was a curator at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery before coming to Bowdoin, said portraits accomplish several tasks-they say something about their subject, as well as comment on the era in which they were created.

Even more so, "There are particular genres of portraiture that are intended to do particular work for us," to open insight into individuals, our society, and our institutions, "and there is no question that the category of presidential portrait is one of those very special sorts of images," she said.

Each of Bowdoin's presidential paintings, like Wurzel's, also contains a deviation from its predecessors that modernizes the piece. While some of these are more subtle than others, they're all noticeable if you look closely enough.

The portrait of Barry Mills (2001-2015) is the first to depict the president without his academic robes. In his portrait, Bob Edwards (1990-2001) is the first to smile, and also the first to be shown in a relaxed standing position (he is leaning against his office desk).

Goodyear said the Rose painting, while quite distinct, "will be a wonderful addition to presidential portraits in Hubbard Hall...Like its predecessors, Rose's portrait says something about the moment in which it was depicted and the particular interests and proclivities of the subject that inspired it."