Theodore Clement Steele, American, 1847–1926
1888
Oil on canvas
101.9 cm x 81.6 cm | 40 1/8 in x 32 1/8 in
Used with permission of Indiana Historical Bureau
Isaac Pusey Gray (1825-1895) was the 18th and 20th governor of Indiana, from 1880 to 1881 and, from 1885 to 1889. Governor Gray was a democrat.
Steele painted a series of five paintings of Indiana Governors with Gray being the first.
“Isaac P. Gray is portrayed in a gracious and sympathetic way by T. C. Steele. He is seated at ease in a large chair, upholstered in red leather, undoubtedly the one used in his executive office. This leads us to conclude that the portrait was painted in the State House.”1
1 This is supported by the recollections of the artist’s son, Brandt Steele, to Wilbur Peat. See Charles J. Oval, Governors of Indiana, Indianapolis, 1916, with supplementary notes about the portraits and artists added by Wilbur D. Peat, 1939, p. 95, in the Stout Reference Library, Indianapolis Museum of Art.