Unveiling spotlights a recently completed portrait commission or figurative work from some of the best and most active members of the Portrait Society of America. This month, Kimberly Azzarito, Assistant Director of the Portrait Society, interviewed Carol Baxter Kirby about her recently completed portrait commission of Chief Justice Benham.

Unveiling

Carol Baxter Kirby: Portrait of Chief Justice Robert Benham

By Kimberly Azzarito

This past March, artist Carol Baxter Kirby unveiled a new commissioned portrait of the Honorable Robert Benham, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. The work was unveiled at a special ceremony in the Supreme Court courtroom with Justice Benham’s wife, Nell, and his adult children in attendance. “The opportunity to paint former Chief Justice Robert Benham for the Supreme Court of Georgia was a special honor given to me through Ann Richards of Portraits, Inc.,” says Kirby. “Upon receiving the commission, I began researching Justice Benham and found a video interview where he shared a lot of information about his life and career. He was the first African-American justice to serve on the state’s highest court. As I learned more about him, I prayed that I would have the wisdom and ability needed to express his humility, his dignity and the special wit and wisdom he exuded.

“My first meeting took place at his home in Cartersville, Georgia, where he handed me an older photograph that he wanted me to use for the painting when he was younger and had more hair. Ann and I worked to convince him that he should be painted as he looked now for his legacy, and thankfully he relented.” At Justice Benham’s recommendation, they met at the courthouse in Cartersville for the first sitting. “When I placed him beside the post in the courtroom, he became teary-eyed and said he spent many hours at that very spot in his early years, and it held a special place in his heart,” says Kirby.

Carol Baxter Kirby, Chief Justice Robert Benham, oil, 46 x 30”

When working out the composition, Kirby purposely used the vast space of the courtroom behind him to magnify and elevate the importance of this man in his lifelong pursuit of justice. She explains, “From an artistic perspective, I used directional shapes and large brushstrokes to emphasize a life that persevered and changed the world around him. Many dignitaries spoke at the unveiling ceremony with tears and deepest respect regarding the impact of this one man who endured racial discrimination and persevered with wisdom and humor to change the world around him.”

Currently, Kirby is working on a large portrait of a mother and her daughters in the setting of their historic Civil War-era home in Tennessee. “When creating family portraits, I work out the composition in a drawing that I send to the client for approval before starting the painting,” says Kirby. “Most of my paintings are of children and they continually delight me as subjects. Often, I have the privilege to work with the same family over a long period of time for different portraits and I count this as a special joy.”

Kirby concluded our interview with this musing on her paintings: “I don’t concern myself with trying to create an award-winning painting but rather a timeless painting that is true to my subject, my desires and where I have given it my all.” —