Excepting its golden dome and red velvet curtains, the Vermont Statehouse’s palette is altogether too white. Of the dozens of oil-on-canvas portraits adorning the halls of power, only one is of a Black man. Of the female portraits (just three until this month) none has featured a woman of color — until now. In a May 5 ceremony in the House chamber, the Friends of the Vermont Statehouse unveiled a portrait of representative Louvenia Dorsey Bright, both the first Black woman and woman of color to serve in the Vermont legislature. Bright was elected in 1988 and served three terms representing South Burlington; she died in 2023. Ayana Ross, a painter from the state of Georgia and alum of the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, was selected for the commission. She talked about getting to know Bright through photos and stories: her elegance, her luminous smile, her trademark tinted glasses. Ross included flowers representing the states where Bright lived and an apple, symbolizing her career in education. In the legislator’s hand is a copy of the bill codifying paid family leave, of which she was an original sponsor. To honor Bright holds deep meaning and promise, especially for many of the legislators of color who spoke. Rep. Saudia LaMont (D-Morrisville), the third Black woman to serve in the legislature, said, “When people walk through these halls and they see her portrait, I hope they don’t just see history. I hope they see possibility.”
Portrait of Louvenia Dorsey Bright: On permanent display in the West corridor of the Vermont Statehouse. Learn more at friendsvtstatehouse.org.
This article appears in Summer Preview • 2026.
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