History:This portrait was commissioned by the Tennessee Historical Commission at a cost of $4000. The painting was blown from a wall of the State Capital in the first floor hallway when exterior doors blew open during a tornado that hit downtown Nashville April 16, 1998. An examination of the painting revealed a scratch in the paint surface below and to the right of the subject's left elbow. There is a second scratch in the paint surface above and to the viewer's left of the subject's head.
Notes:Leonard Ray Blanton was born in Hardin County in 1930. Blanton grew up on a farm, worked his way through the University of Tennessee and went into the construction business. Elected to the legislature in 1964, he also served in Congress 1969-1973. In 1974, he was elected governor. Blanton's administration emphasized equality for women and blacks, economic development and international trade, tax relief for older fixed-income citizens, and penal reform. Blanton created the Department of Tourism, making Tennessee the first state to have a cabinet-level department for tourism. His administration recruited Tennessee-based industry from Germany and Japan. Tennessee Blue Book
