Indiana Governor Portrait Artist: Donald Mattison (1905 - 1975) - Whitcomb

Donald Mattison studied art under Eugene Savage at Yale and won the coveted Prix de Rome in 1928. Upon his return from Rome in 1931, Mattison taught at Columbia University, the New York School of Design and New York University. In 1933, Mattison became Dean of John Herron School of Art, a position he held until 1970. A skilled administrator, Mattison was a key figure in the expansion of the art school. As an accomplished portrait painter, he received many prestigious commissions. He died in 1975 in Indianapolis.

Source: Peat, Wilbur D. Portraits and Painters of the Governors of Indiana 1800-1978. Revised, edited and with new entries by Diane Gail Lazarus, Indianapolis Museum of Art. Biographies of the governors by Lana Ruegamer, Indiana Historical Society. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society and Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1978.