On October 1st, 2022, I was honored to join in unveiling three portraits of judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit—all ground-breaking alumni of the BU School of Law.

I painted all three portraits over the last eighteen months, with sittings and great help from the Judges and their families. I chose over-sized archival paper and the most light-fast pigments to represent both the durability and the delicacy of the law.

The appointment of these three Judges by Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and Obama changed the makeup of the Boston-based United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Judge Torruella became the first Hispanic to serve on the Court; Judge Lynch became the first woman, and is to this day, the only woman to have served as Chief Judge on the Court. Judge Thompson is the first African-American to have been appointed to the Court.

It’s an honor to have created these paintings, which in turn honor these ground-breaking Judges. Boston University School of Law Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig, who envisioned these paintings as a statement of both honor and inclusivity, spoke with passion and commitment as the paintings were seen for the first time in Barrister Hall.