Former Gov. John Lynch – one of New Hampshire’s longest-serving governors – was back in the State House Friday to unveil his official portrait.
Lynch was first elected in 2004 and served four consecutive terms, the first governor to do so in nearly 200 years. After deciding not to seek a fifth term, he went on to become a professor at the Tuck Center for Global Business and Government at Dartmouth College.
Though they hang in the State House, no state money is used for portraits of governors. Instead, friends and supporters raise money to commission the paintings.
The portrait shows a relaxed Lynch standing in his home in Hopkinton, with his hands in his pockets. Artist Ralph “Stoney” Jacobs, of Whitefield, said Lynch’s main requirement was that it showed him smiling.
When he defeated Republican Craig Benson, Lynch became the first challenger to defeat a one-term incumbent in New Hampshire in 78 years.