Patrick Leahy: Behind the Camera
Who knew he was also a photographer?
Patrick Leahy represented the people of Vermont in the United States Senate for 48 years, making him the nation’s third longest-serving Senator upon his retirement in 2023. Burlington’s airport bears his name. Many years ago at the Vermont State Fair on a day when parking seemed to be nonexistent, he and I both started simultaneously to nose into the same, seemingly only, parking space available. He graciously backed his car out of the space and gestured me into it. (One does not forget such acts of kindness and chivalry.) And he’s a Batman fan, appearing in cameo roles in Batman television episodes and movies. He has donated his royalties to charity, specifically to Kellogg-Hubbard, his boyhood library, where he learned to read. The library named a wing after him.
On February 1 (4:30 pm to 7:00 pm), Senator Leahy and his wife, Marcelle, are expected to appear at the opening reception for The Eye of Senator Patrick Leahy: Photographs of a Witness to History, the first art exhibition at the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery since the July 2023 flood. The Eye of Senator Patrick Leahy is an extraordinary collection of his photographs that showcases the unusual access and unique perspective enjoyed by Vermont’s beloved longtime senator—with images captured throughout his career at the center of the nation’s political spotlight. The exhibition will be on view from February 1 to March 29, 2024.
“With Senator Leahy documenting nearly five decades of events and personal interactions, both great and small, this exhibition intimately celebrates politicians, human rights leaders and artists that have inspired and influenced people across borders and oceans. The exhibition also highlights everyday people from around the world who have inspired the Senator.”—Vermont State Curators
Senator Leahy is a born and bred Vermonter. His family’s printing business was located across the street from the Vermont State House. Of his love of photography, he says:
"As the son of a printer in Montpelier, I learned early about the power of the printed word and the printed image, and a lifelong interest in photography was born the first time I picked up a camera. Photographs can at once be both timely and timeless. They enhance our understanding beyond the ability of words alone."–
Leahy’s photographs have been published in newspapers and magazines, including Time, US News and World Report and other national and international news publications.
A second reception will be held at the gallery on Friday, February 2, 2024 from 4:30 to 7:00 pm in conjunction with Montpelier’s Art Walk. The Vermont Supreme Court Gallery is located at 111 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont.
(Photo, top, courtesy of Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY. Other photos courtesy of the Vermont State Curator’s Office)
——————————————————
Big news . . . we are this close to obtaining 2700 Artful subscribers. Thank you! You’re reading Artful, a blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley, and I hope you’ll subscribe (still free) and then share this with your friends and on your social media.
And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.
ncG1vNJzZmiZoqmztriNrKybq6SWsKx6wqikaKhfpa61vsicomaklZa1unnBnp%2BippRiwamxjJyYpp2ilg%3D%3D