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months, the committee remained silent. More portraits of Rainey arrived. By some reports, the Capitol received as many as 16 canvases (fig. 3). When Byrns suddenly died in June 1936, a decision still had not been made. 12 From Rainey's Illinois district, Rep. Scott Lucas accused Keller of "vacillation, indecision and indo- lence," adding that Rainey's widow was "weary and heartsick over it." Under pressure, Keller convened his committee, believing, "The opinion of most artists seems to be that a man should be painted as he was when in the prime of his life." A decision was made. Christy's portrait of the late Speaker had won and would be placed near the entrance of the Speaker's Lobby. One newspaper astutely commented, "The portrait is an idealization, the usual Christy style." 13 When Christy heard the good news, he was at "Oak Hill," the Nashville, Tennessee mansion of Maxwell House coffee heir and executive John Cheek. In the midst of a 110-degree heat wave, the artist mopped the sweat from his brow and finished his portrait of Cheek's beautiful young daughter, Eleanor. 14 The Rainey portrait was Christy's first commis- sioned work for the Capitol. He would eventually create six more paintings, either displayed in the Capitol or its surrounding buildings. Above all, Christy never forgot Keller's kindness and returned the favor by immortal- izing him on canvas. 15 Forgotten In the mid-1930s, Time magazine proclaimed Howard Chandler Christy to be the "most commercially suc- cessful U.S. artist," yet not everyone recognized his dis- tinctive face. In the spring of 1937, Christy entered the Capitol's Speaker's Lobby (fig. 4) and asked the door- man, Ed Weikert, if a certain portrait attracted much Fig. 3. Members of the House's Committee on the Library inspect portraits submitted to the Capitol of Speaker of the House Henry T. Rainey in December 1935. Christy's portrait is to the far right. 4 THE CAPITOL DOME