Helen Whitener, the first African American woman, to serve on the court. Chief Justice González personally commissioned and donated two more portraits by University of California, Berkeley, law student and artist Ximena Velázquez-Arenas, of Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, the first Native American, and Justice G. The Supreme Court itself commissioned Arreguín to paint a portrait of Chief Justice Steven González, the first person of color to hold that position. A scholarship for women of color has been established in Justice Yu’s name at SU Law, where a copy of her portrait hangs. Seattle University Law School and others recently commissioned Arreguín to paint a portrait of Justice Mary Yu-the first Latina, first Chinese-American, and first openly gay justice to serve on the court. Their provenance was discovered through research done by Sheila Farr. Dunbar (who served on the court from 1880-1902), are on display at the Temple of Justice. Anders (who served on the court from 1889-1905), left, and Ralph O. The forgotten history of these portraits represents the tip of a broader problem. A copy of Justice Smith’s portrait hangs at the University of Washington Law School, where Justice Smith once served as an associate dean. The portrait was commissioned by Chief Justice Steven González and was funded by many donors, including the Loren Miller Bar Association and the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington. It was an important first step toward creating new representations for a supreme court that has become the most diverse in the nation, with seven women and two men, of multiple racial and cultural backgrounds.

Arreguín’s portrait added color and light to the lineup of dark, formally posed pictures that hang in a hallway at the Temple of Justice. His portrait, commissioned from renowned artist Alfredo Arreguín, provided a serious and beautiful departure from the severe, traditional style of previous court portraits. Justice Smith, who retired in 2002, was the son of a Cuban father and a Black mother.

Smith, the first person of color to serve on the court. We have no way of knowing how many other important historical artworks and artifacts might be hanging or stored at courthouses around the state, unidentified or damaged, or how many have been lost.ĭuring the past 10 years, the Supreme Court has acquired five new portraits to honor groundbreaking justices of color, beginning with the late Justice Charles Z. Some are admiring portraits of unidentified subjects. At the Temple of Justice alone, several of the portraits on display have unknown origins. The forgotten history of these three portraits represents the tip of a broader problem. The Washington State Arts Commission does not oversee historic artworks installed at the judicial branch and no other state entity appeared to have a record of the works. No judicial branch employee is tasked with maintaining a history of the building and its historically significant contents. Due in part to the separation of powers among the branches of government and chronic underfunding of the judicial branch, the Temple of Justice had no system in place for inventorying, tracking, and maintaining its art collection. Until recently, the history of those portraits-how and when they were acquired, who commissioned and paid for them, and even the name of the artist who painted them-was lost. So why, a century later, should this still be news? A year later, when the paintings were installed at the Temple of Justice, which was still a brick building with no stone cladding, The Seattle Daily Times reported the unveiling of the portraits. In April 1914, while construction was underway on the Temple of Justice in Olympia, the Washington State Bar Association commissioned a Seattle artist to paint portraits of three of the state’s first Supreme Court justices.

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