Redford tight-lipped about smiling portrait
In a practice shared by few other provinces, Alberta insists on commissioning official portraits of all its former premiers to be hung in the Legislative Assembly building. Thursday morning, with almost no ceremony or fanfare, legislature staff hung up the portrait of former Progressive Conservative leader Alison Redford. The National Post’s Tristin Hopper tells us how it compares to the others:
IT’S THE MOST SPARTAN PAINTING SINCE THE 1940S
In the beginning, Alberta premiers posed for portraits the same as anyone else: They got dressed in their best and someone painted them from the waist up in front of a black background. Then, in the 1930s, portraitists started spicing things up: details of furniture were added, interesting backgrounds, premiers pretending to be surprised in the act of candidly writing down something profound. Redford, of course, resigned amid a string of spending controversies, including alleged misuse of provincially owned aircraft. This may have factored into why she’s pictured in front of a plain brown background next to a no- frills table.
IT’S THE ONLY PORTRAIT IN WHICH THE PREMIER ISN’T LOOKING AT THE VIEWER
All of Redford’s 13 predecessors stared straight at the artist as they posed for their portrait. Redford is the only one to stand with chin raised and stare heroically off into the middle distance. However, the former premier says we shouldn’t read any triumphalism into the choice. “I have observed that, traditionally, those in political life are inclined to use events such as this unveiling to paint their own picture of how they want to be remembered and what they hope their legacy might be; I am choosing not to do that,” she said in a statement.
IT DOESN’T HAVE ANY CANOLA OR WHEAT IN IT
Three premiers have chosen to pose in front of a background featuring grain of some kind. The strangest was easily Ralph Klein, who had his portraitist depict the premier’s office as if it looked out onto golden fields of canola — rather than the depressing Edmonton scene it actually faces.
IT’S ONE OF ONLY THREE PORTRAITS FEATURING A SMILE
Sir Frederick W.A.G. Haultain, the premier of the pre-Alberta Northwest Territories, posed for his official portrait like a proto- Cary Grant: lit cigarette, perfectly ironed tuxedo and the satisfied smile of someone who thought to bring along some good Champagne to the frontier. From there, the leaders of Alberta made sure to exhibit every expression except smiling. Peter Lougheed looks sad. Richard Reid looks like he ate something sour. William “Bible Bill” Aberhart looks judgmental. Ernest Manning managed to freeze his mouth into a perfectly horizontal line. But only in the 21st century did Ed Stelmach strike a farm boy grin, followed immediately by Redford’s relaxed grin.
THAT’S TARTAN IN HER RIGHT HAND
Redford is the daughter of a Scottish immigrant mother, so she likely chose a bundle of tartan to harken back to the Old Country. While Alberta does have its own tartan ( two of them, in fact), this appears to be a family tartan. Around her neck, meanwhile, are grandma’s pearls.
THE BOOKS HAVE TITLES
A quick glance at the portraits in the Alberta legislative assembly quickly reveals that Albertans hate subtlety. Since Don Getty, the general idea is to jam the portraits with knick- knacks. Redford ups the ante with a peculiar choice of reading material: The books Energy, Opportunity, Equality and Diversity.