Former Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof receives portrait in Statehouse atrium

It's no accident that a portrait of former Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof that was unveiled at the Statehouse this week includes a paperweight in it.

Given to him by his predecessor, Keith Faber — now state auditor — the special paperweight carried an inscription that Ronald Reagan once had on his desk in the Oval Office: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

Trying to carry out that philosophy — especially in light of today's divisive political climate — is something that the Republican said he's proud to have done as he strove to work with colleagues across the aisle during his time in office.

“The point is that when you're representing the people, when you're doing politics or legislation, you shouldn't get caught up in whether you're going to get credit for it or whose name is going to be on a bill or whether it's going to be a House or a Senate bill or who's gonna go back to their district and brag about what they did,” Obhof said. “What you should be focused on is if it's the right public policy, get it done.”

Obhof's portrait was unveiled Wednesday in the atrium of the Statehouse in the company of various state officials, including Faber, Gov. Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

Obhof, who was a state senator from 2011 to 2020, said he was honored to have the painting commemorating his tenure as Senate president from 2017 to 2020.

“It's always great to be a part of history and to have your time serving the people of Ohio remembered,” the graduate of Ohio State University and Yale Law School said.

The portrait was painted by Cleveland artist Paul Wyse, who also has made portraits of singers Harry Connick Jr. and Billy Joel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

It joined a collection of portraits at the Statehouse that includes all former Ohio governors as well as some of Ohio’s lieutenant governors, Senate presidents and House speakers.

Obhof’s wife and three daughters appeared alongside him at Wednesday's ceremony — and in the painting, represented by a family picture that can be seen on his desk.

Other items Obhof wanted to include in the portrait were the gavel he used on his first and last day; a state flag that flew in the Statehouse the day he became president; the Declaration of Independence, representing his love of constitutional law; and the paperweight from Faber.

DeWine said at the ceremony that he thought the quote on the paperweight was appropriate for someone like Obhof.

“I saw many times when it was Larry that really should have the credit and he gave me the credit, or he gave someone else the credit, or one of his members (the) credit,” DeWine said. “That's really what kind of guy he is.”

The artist behind the portrait, Wyse, has a background as a concert pianist who taught performance lessons at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, New York. He said he has found many similarities between the skill sets needed to paint portraits and play piano, like good hand-eye coordination.

“I'm a very realistic painter, and I aspire to an aesthetic that's like the old masters that really looks like the person and that depicts exactly the (subject),” Wyse said. “And so to do that, it requires a highly refined sense of minutia in your hands and your eyes."

Wyse’s process of creating Obhof’s portrait began a year ago after the two met in a coffee shop and discussed ideas of what it could look like.

Wyse went on to say that he is an equal opportunity portrait painter and doesn’t think it matters to agree with everything a politician stands for in order to capture their essence in a portrait.

“We're trying to convey something about the legacy of our government and how important that is," Wyse said. "We wouldn't know what George Washington looked like if we didn't have a painting tradition. It's a really important piece. And as portrait artists, it can't be a political decision.”

The funding for the portrait came from private donations from Obhof’s colleagues.

As for where it will be placed, the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board will adhere to the direction of the Senate. Some Senate president portraits are on display near the office of the president or in other rooms used by the Senate.

David Kwiatkowski is a features intern for The Columbus Dispatch. You can reach him at dkwiatkowski@gannett.com or on Twitter @kwiatkdm.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former state Senate President Larry Obhof gets Statehouse portrait