WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Commission on Art unveiled a portrait of the Senate’s 16th Republican Leader, Trent Lott of Miss., in a ceremony Wednesday, Sept. 16 in the Old Senate Chamber.

Special guests attending were Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Democrat Leader Harry Reid, former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former President Bill Clinton. The Lott portrait, by artist Steven Polson, is the most recent addition to the Senate Leadership Portrait Collection.
Lott was born in Grenada, Miss., before his family moved to Pascagoula, Miss. He was first elected to Congress in 1972 to represent Mississippi’s Fifth Congressional District – where he succeeded his former boss Representative William Colmer. Lott was re-elected seven times by overwhelming margins before his election to his first of four Senate terms in 1988.
His 35-year career concluded in December 2007, where his colleagues honored him for his “warmth, decency, and devotion to the people of Mississippi and the country” and “his legendary skill at working cooperatively with people from all political parties and ideologies.”
Lott served as House Republican Whip, Senate Conference Secretary (now Senate Republican Conference Vice-Chairman), Senate Majority and Minority Leader, and twice as Senate Republican Whip. Lott is the only member in the 220 year history of Congress to serve as his party’s Whip in both the House and Senate.
In addition to his party leadership roles, Lott served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration as well as being a senior member of the Finance and Commerce committees. From these posts, Lott was able to work across the aisle to craft meaningful legislation – ranging from welfare and education reform to tax cuts. Perhaps his most significant legislative accomplishment was the Gulf Opportunity Zone package he passed to help America’s Gulf Coast rebuild following Hurricane Katrina.
He is also the author of “Herding Cats: A Life in Politics.”
Lott is married to his college sweetheart, Patricia (Tricia) Thompson Lott. They have two children and four grandchildren.
Polson, at age 16, began formal study at the Art Students’ League in New York City, went on to receive a Fine Arts degree in 1984 from the Cooper Union for the Advancement for Science and Art. He has won recognition for his painting, including the prestigious Allied Artists of America Gold Medal of Honor.
Portraits recently completed by the artist include those of Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell for the State Department. In 2004, the Senate commissioned Polson to paint a posthumous portrait of Robert F. Wagner for the Senate Reception Room in the Capitol.
The Lott portrait will hang in the United States Capitol.

Click link below for video of Trent Lott portrait unveiling.

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/09/16/HP/A/23261/Fmr+Sen+Trent+Lott+RMS+Portrait+Unveiling.aspx