Joseph Maniscalco painted two portraits for the Education and Labor Committee, Ford’s and “Gus” Hawkins’. In both, the artist combined a neutral background with selected attributes of the sitter’s character and interests. In this case, small items on the left are balanced by a chair and flag on the right. Maniscalco studied at New York’s Art Students League before moving to California, where he painted movie posters for 20th Century Fox Studios. He moved to Detroit in 1953 and by 1968 was concentrating primarily on commissioned portraits.
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “William David Ford,” https://history.house.gov/Collection/Listing/2002/2002-020-003/ (March 01, 2026)
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