How About a Sam Adams?

Sam Drysdale | SHNS

Instead of an empty gold frame, a portrait of one of the Sons of Liberty now hangs in the governor's ceremonial office.

After two and a half years, Healey’s frame, which was installed with symbolic intent as she settled into the governor's office, has been moved to the reception area of the governor’s suite.

In its place now hangs a portrait of Samuel Adams — Declaration of Independence signer, revolutionary leader, and former governor — elevated in honor of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

Healey broke from tradition in 2023 by declining to hang a portrait of a former governor behind her desk. She instead displayed the empty gold frame — a minimalist statement inspired by students Julian Hynes, Ja’liyah Santiago, and Adniley Velez. The trio suggested the installation to "remind you that there will be large groups of people that remain underrepresented, voiceless, and invisible."

Photos of Gov. Maura Healey's family sit on the mantle below a portrait of Samuel Adams in the governor's ceremonial office on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.

Now, that frame will be on display with a dozen portraits of governors in the office's front reception area, which is publicly accessible for visiting tourists and guests waiting to enter the governor's suite.

In the ceremonial office, the Adams portrait, which had been hanging in the nearby Governor's Council chamber, is now the featured piece of art and hangs above the mantle.

A Boston native buried just down the street in the Granary Burying Ground, Adams played a central role in America’s path to independence — from protesting British taxes and stirring outrage after the Boston Massacre to fostering colonial unity and, likely, helping plan the Boston Tea Party. He signed the Declaration of Independence, served in the First and Second Continental Congresses, and later helped draft the Massachusetts Constitution — the same document under which he served as the state’s fourth governor.

A collection of items, including a signed basketball, a U.S. Navy hat, a Massachusetts Veterans license plate and a photograph of Gov. Maura Healey and her partner, Joanna Lydgate, sit on a table in the governor's ceremonial office.

"As we celebrate MA250, his portrait will stand as a daily reminder of Massachusetts’ pivotal role in America’s founding — and of the values he championed: freedom, democracy, and independence," Healey said in a statement.

The theme for the portrait installation is "history and service," according to deputy press secretary Ayub Tahil.

In the Governor’s Council chamber, she has also refreshed the lineup of portraits, selecting three former governors who were military veterans: John Brooks, Benjamin Butler, and Paul Dever. They replace paintings that had remained from former Gov. Charlie Baker's term, where his theme was "wartime governors"

Brooks, the 11th governor, commanded the Reading Minutemen during the Battles of Lexington and Concord and later served under George Washington. A longtime legislator and Federalist, he was elected governor in 1816.

A portrait of former Gov. John Brooks hangs in the Governor's Council chambers on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.

Butler, the state’s 33rd governor, earned his place for his stance on slavery, Tahil said.

As a Union general in the Civil War, Butler declared escaped enslaved people "contraband of war," allowing them to seek refuge behind Union lines rather than be returned to Confederate owners. The National Park Service notes in a biography of Butler related to Lowell National Historical Park that Butler himself was not an abolitionist and had, in fact, voted for Jefferson Davis — later president of the Confederacy — at the 1860 Democratic National Convention.

A portrait of former Gov. Benjamin Butler hangs in the Governor's Council chamber.

Dever, a Boston native, served as attorney general at just 32 before becoming the state’s 58th governor in 1950. A lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Dever oversaw major postwar projects, including the construction of Route 128 and the Massachusetts Turnpike. The National Governors Association credits him with improving workers’ compensation, expanding funding for schools and charitable institutions, and opposing communism during his tenure.

A portrait of former Gov. Paul Dever hangs in the Governor's Council chambers.

"From the battlefields of the Revolution to the Civil War and World War II, Governors Brooks, Butler, and Dever each fought for the ideals of freedom, service and democracy that define Massachusetts," Healey said. "Hanging their portraits in this chamber is more than a gesture of gratitude — it is a reminder of the generations who fought, led and sacrificed to preserve the promise of the United States of America."

Sam Drysdale is a Statehouse reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts. Reach her at sdrysdale@statehousenews.com.