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Michele Rushworth (b. 1958) is an artist noted for portrait paintings in oils. She has painted the official portraits of leading figures in government, law, education, medicine and the arts, including nine state gubernatorial portraits as well as private portraits for families across the country. She has also been commissioned to paint the official portraits of United States Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, which will be displayed at the Commerce Building in Washington D.C,. a portrait of the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force General Norton Schwartz to be unveiled at the Pentagon in the fall of 2012, and the official portrait painting of Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen now on display at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington D.C.

Background
Michele Rushworth has been a professional artist working in watercolor, pastel and oils for over 25 years, painting portraits, landscapes and still lifes and exhibiting her work in The Salmagundi Club, Allied Artists of America show, the American Watercolor Society national exhibition and other galleries on the east coast. She began concentrating on painting official and family portrait commissions in oils in 2001.

In September of 2002 The CBS news morning show The Early Show hosted a segment with Michele Rushworth and Suzanne Oelschlager, widow of New York City firefighter Douglas Oelschlager. During the interview Suzanne Oelschlager told host Jane Clayson that the portrait that Rushworth donated to her family “is something that my entire family is going to cherish forever.”

Newscaster Susan Hutchison with Seattle CBS affiliate KIRO -TV said "Seattle artist Michele Rushworth has painted a masterpiece, a portrait of New York Firefighter Douglas Oelschlager, who lost his life in the attacks on September 11, 2001." In 2006 the Seattle Times wrote a feature article about Rushworth and quoted Washington State Capitol Museum Director Derek Valley saying that her portrait of Washington State Governor Gary Locke "captures Governor Locke at his best". The Las Vegas Weekly in 2006 quoted Teresa Moiola, Director of Marketing and Public Information for the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs, as saying that Rushworth “is an exemplary painter, perhaps one of the stellar artists of our country” in a reference to the official portraits Rushworth painted of Nevada Governors Kenny Guinn and Jim Gibbons.

American Artist Magazine wrote “In the span of seven years Michele Rushworth has gone from having little to no commission work to being one of the most reputable professional portraitists today" and called her “one of the most successful portrait painters in the country today.”    In a 2011 article in Barron’s about portraiture, Rushworth was said to “produce realistic paintings rich with color,” and the article referred to “the clean style of Michele Rushworth.”

Major League Baseball
On October 2, 2004 Rushworth created a full length portrait painting of Seattle Mariners’ designated hitter Edgar Martinez who played for 25 years with the Mariners. The portrait was unveiled at Safeco Field ballpark in front of a crowd of 40,000 fans at a retirement ceremony for Martinez which was also attended by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and United States Senator Slade Gorton.

Wyoming governors’ portrait project
One of Rushworth’s largest portrait projects consisted of painting five gubernatorial portraits in a project sponsored by the Wyoming State Legislature to fill in the gaps in their collection of paintings of all of the former Governors of Wyoming.

In 2008 Rushworth painted portraits of Governors Clifford P. Hansen, James E. Geringer and Michael J. Sullivan. The portrait of Governor Geringer depicts him in his distinctive western attire with black cowboy hat, bolo tie and leather vest. Governor Sullivan’s portrait shows him holding his trademark grey cowboy hat which also often wore when he was United States Ambassador to Ireland. The portrait of Governor Hansen was painted when he was 95 years of age and Rushworth chose to depict him relaxing in a comfortable chair, looking off to the left of the painting as if reflecting back on his many years in the Governor’s office and United States Senate.

A year later Rushworth was commissioned to paint the official portraits of Wyoming Governors Bryant Butler Brooks and Lester C. Hunt. The portrait of Governor Hunt shows him at his desk in the Governor’s office and is based on photographs of him from the 1950’s. Governor Brooks’ portrait presented a greater challenge as there were only a small number of hundred-year-old reference photographs, most of which showed only the governor’s head and shoulders. Rushworth researched clothing and furniture from the era and arranged for a model to wear a rented Edwardian-era suit, and posed him in a chair that was typical of the era, in order to depict the three quarter length figure of the governor that is shown in the portrait.

The five Wyoming gubernatorial portraits that Rushworth painted were unveiled in ceremonies presided over by then-current Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal held in the state capitol building in Cheyenne in 2008 and 2010 and were attended by the former governors themselves, their family members and descendants. The portraits were then exhibited at the Historical Governor’s Mansion in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

United States Coast Guard
Rushworth’s portrait of United States Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was unveiled in the Officer’s Club at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. and was displayed at his Change of Command Ceremony on May 25, 2010. The event was attended by 2,000 people including United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. The portrait includes a map of New Orleans on the wall commemorating Allen's role in the response to Hurricane Katrina and a cap on the side table honoring his father's service to the Coast Guard.

Seattle Symphony Orchestra
In 2011 the Seattle Symphony commissioned Rushworth to paint a full length portrait of retiring Music Director and Conductor Gerard Schwarz, to commemorate his 26 years with the orchestra. The portrait was unveiled at Benaroya Hall to honor Schwarz’ illustrious career. Others in attendance at the portrait unveiling events were famed glass artist Dale Chihuly, Mrs. Rebecca Benaroya and Master of Ceremonies for the event, former Seattle Symphony President and television news anchor Susan Hutchison.

United States District Court
Rushworth’s portrait of United States District Judge Sam Sparks was unveiled on December 2, 2011 in an event held in the Ceremonial Courtroom of the Federal Courthouse in Austin, TX. The ceremony was presided over by Chief Justice the Honorable Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. Several hundred people attended the proceedings, including twelve federal judges and a ceremonial color guard. The event included a pre-recorded videotaped speech by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Federal Government
The Pentagon, Washington, D.C. - portrait of Air Force Chief of Staff, Norton A. Schwartz

Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. – portrait of Secretary Gary Locke

United States Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C. – portrait of Commandant Admiral Thad Allen

State Government
Wyoming State Capitol, Cheyenne, WY - portrait of Governor Michael J. Sullivan

State Capitol, Cheyenne, WY - portrait of Governor James Geringer

State Capitol, Cheyenne, WY - portrait of Governor Clifford P. Hansen

State Capitol, Cheyenne, WY - portrait of Governor Lester C. Hunt

State Capitol, Cheyenne, Wyoming - portrait of Governor Bryant B. Brooks

Nevada State Capitol, Carson City, Nevada – portrait of Governor Kenny C. Guinn

State Capitol, Carson City, Nevada – portrait of Governor James A. Gibbons

Washington State Capitol, Olympia, Washington – portrait of Governor Gary Locke

State Capitol, Olympia, Washington – portrait of Governor Christine Gregoire

Judicial
United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin – portrait of Federal Judge Sam Sparks

United States District Court for the District of Wyoming – portrait of Federal Judge Alan Bond Johnson

United States District Court, Wyoming – portrait of Federal Judge William F. Downes

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Atlanta, Georgia – portrait of Norman Zoller, Circuit Executive

Medical
University of Alabama at Birmingham – portrait of Dr. Raymond Watts, University of Alabama Medical Center Foundation

University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center – portrait of Dr. Merle Salter, Department of Radiation Oncology

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Medical Center – portrait of Dr. Robert F. Roth, Department of Radiation Oncology

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Medical Center -- portrait of Dr. John R. Durant, Dr. Albert F. Lobugio and  Dr Edward E. Partridge, Directors, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center

Education
College of William & Mary, Richard Bland College, Richmond, Virginia – portrait of President James McNeer

University of North Carolina Wilmington – portrait of Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo

Campbell University Law School, Raleigh, NC – portrait of Dean Patrick Hetrick

Campbell University Law School, Raleigh, NC – portrait of Dean Melissa Essary

Campbell University Law School, Raleigh, NC – portrait of Dean Willis Whichard

Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina – portrait of President and Mrs. Gerald Wallace

Memphis University School –Portrait of Kent Wunderlich, President, Board of Trustees

University of Washington, Seattle, WA – portrait of Donald Petersen, former CEO of Ford Motor Company

Marietta College, Marietta, OH – Portrait of Dr. Jean Scott, President

Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH – Portrait of Dr. Mark Erickson, President

Business
Alliance One International, Charlotte, NC – Portrait of CEO Brian J. Harker

Premier Oil Industries, New Orleans, LA – Portrait of CEO Sam Poole III

Georgia Power and Light, Atlanta, GA – Portrait of Director William H. Mashburn

Ward and Smith Law Firm, Raleigh, NC – Portraits of founding partners David L. Ward and Troy W. Smith

Arts and Sports
Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA – portrait of Conductor and Music Director, Gerard Schwarz

McCaw Hall, Seattle, WA – portrait of Founding Artistic Directors, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Kent Stowell and Francia Russell

Seattle Mariners, Major League Baseball, Seattle, WA – portrait of Edgar Martinez

Teaching/Lecturing
Rushworth was invited to be one of the “nationally known artists” and “acclaimed faculty” at the 2008 and 2010 national conferences of the Portrait Society of America in Reston, Virginia.

In addition Rushworth has taught or lectured at the Gage Academy of Art, Georgetown Atelier, the Fall City/Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio and the Kirkland Arts Center.