Former Gov. Janklow’s portrait added to the Governor Gallery at USD

Having attended the University of South Dakota as a student, former South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow has acquired a presence at his alma mater long after graduation.

The late public servant’s portrait will now be displayed in the Governor Gallery in Farber Hall for students, faculty, staff and visitors to see.

Lindsey Janklow, a senior at USD, spoke Wednesday evening at the portrait dedication ceremony for her grandfather. She said she was honored to be a student at the same university where her grandfather went to college.

“It’s especially honoring to the family that (USD) actually took the time to dedicate the portrait — they didn’t just hang it on a wall. USD took the time to thank him and honor him for all of the work he did,” she said.

The painting is one of three portraits portraying the late governor by artist Joshua Spies. While the portrait dedicated Wednesday will hang in Farber Hall next to 10 other portraits of former South Dakota governors, the remaining two portraits of Janklow are displayed in the capitol building in Pierre.

Spies said the portrait dedicated at the ceremony Wednesday took him about two months to complete.

“I’m really happy with the way they turned out. I put a lot of detail and time into them,” he said.

The ceremony, which was hosted by the USD Political Science Department, drew a crowd of about 40 people. President James Abbott said the dedication was an appropriate way to honor the memory of the late governor.

“He did so much for South Dakota for so long of a period of time,” Abbott said. “Very few people in this state have affected the state and its people as much as Bill Janklow.”

Governor Janklow, who died from brain cancer in 2012 at the age of 72, served as a state attorney general, a four term non-consecutive governor and as a state representative.