A portrait of the first Asian American to hold a presidential Cabinet post is being installed in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Former transportation and commerce secretary (and Bay Area native) Norman Mineta‘s portrait was added on July 27th, as part of the museum’s permanent collection in the exhibition “New Arrivals”.
The oil-on-canvas painting by Everett Raymond Kinstler has been given as a gift to the gallery from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.
Mineta and his parents, who were Japanese immigrants, were detained at Heart Mountain internment camp, during WWII. In 1971, Mineta was elected mayor of San Jose, making him the first Asian American mayor of a major U.S. city. Mineta served in Congress for 20 years, representing California from 1975 to 1995.
President Bill Clinton appointed Mineta commerce secretary in 2000, and President George W. Bush appointed him transportation secretary in 2001.
Mineta retired from his Cabinet post in 2006 and in that same year was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.
“New Arrivals,” where Mineta’s portrait will be on view, is a rotating exhibition of subjects and objects that have been recently added to the museum’s permanent collection. You can find out more about Mineta’s ground breaking career in a previous 8Asians post by John.
