As Nathan Deal prepares to leave Georgia's governor's office, he and First Lady Sandra Deal were honored at the State Capitol Thursday morning with the unveiling of the official governor's portrait.
Both Gov. and Mrs. Deal posed for the portrait, which was painted by Thomas V. Nash, the same artist who painted the official governor's portrait for the late Zell Miller.
Chris Riley, Deal's Chief of Staff, spoke before the unveiling in the Capitol rotunda, telling the audience to pay special attention to some of the items included in the portrait with the Deals.
"The scales of justice, which perfectly reflects criminal justice reform...you'll notice a crane in the background. The crane is to resemble the construction of the judicial building [which will be named in Deal's honor]," Riley said.
He also pointed out the stack of books and the apple that appear at Sandra Deal's side.
"It's pretty obvious what books and an apple reflect - a thousand schools Sandra Deal visited and read to across Georgia," Riley said to applause from the audience.
Riley also noted a bookend shaped like a movie camera to represent the influx of business from the film industry in the state, as well as a car to represent the boom in auto manufacturing in Georgia during Deal's eight-year tenure as governor.
After the portrait was unveiled, Deal took to the podium to thank Nash for his work. He also noted it was the first time he had seen the portrait since its completion.
Thomas Nash is the artist who painted the official portrait of Gov. Nathan Deal and First Lady Sandra Deal.
Gov. Deal speaks after his official portrait is unveiled at the Georgia State Capitol.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/1/749481/deal-portrait-unveiled-in-thursday-morning-ceremony