Speaker Portraits
The House of Representatives honors each of its former Speakers with a formal portrait. Many of the paintings are displayed in and around the Speaker’s Lobby in the Capitol. The bronze plaque in the lobby notes that collecting portraits of Speakers is a “tribute to their worth to the nation.” What began haphazardly with donations and additions, sometimes long after the Representative served as Speaker, had formalized by the 20th century into an important way that the House pays homage to its long history.
Learn more about how this tradition of commemorating the House’s presiding leader evolved and explore selected portraits from the House Collection on Collections Search.