The U.S. Senate Commission on Art announces the unveiling of a new painting of former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-ME).  The portrait, painted by Maine artist Alan Magee, is part of the U.S. Senate Leadership Portrait Collection, which honors past Senate leaders.

George J. Mitchell became Senate majority leader in 1989, a post he held until his retirement in 1995.  After working in the Senate from 1962 to 1965 as executive assistant to Maine Senator Edmund S. Muskie, George Mitchell served as a U.S. attorney and federal district judge for Maine.  He returned to Capitol Hill to complete newly appointed Secretary of State Muskie’s unexpired Senate term.  Two years later, Mr. Mitchell won election to a full Senate term in a stunning come-from-behind victory.  He exceeded that triumph in 1988 by winning a second full term with 81 percent of the vote—the largest margin in Maine history.

While in the Senate, George Mitchell was instrumental in passing legislation to protect the environment, help low-income Americans secure child care and affordable housing, extend civil rights protection to the disabled, expand higher education opportunities, and open world markets to trade. After leaving the Senate in 1995, he chaired the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland and the International Fact-Finding Committee on Violence in the Middle East.

Artist Alan Magee  said of George Mitchell’s portrait that it “should express his strength, persistence, and his subtle sense of humor.  The portrait’s direct and symmetrical design seemed the best way to convey the direct qualities of the man.”