Governor Kinsley Bingham
(1855-1859)

2016
Painted by Joshua Adam Risner
Oil on Linen

This bust of Governor Kinsley Bigham was created by artist Joshua Risner and unveiled in 2016 as part of a project to fill gaps in the Capitol’s portrait collection. Risner based the painting off an extant portrait of the governor in the Michigan Historical Museum’s collection. He employed 19th century painting techniques to create the work, building up many thin layers of oil paint to achieve the desired warmth, depth, and light. This allows for a naturalistic skin tone, which helps to breathe life into the painted depiction. Along with the portrait, Risner also created the frame from scratch. It combines elements of the original portrait’s frame with designs of Risner’s choosing – including the acanthus leaves in the corners, added for their prevalence throughout the Capitol.