Gordon Wetmore
Internationally acclaimed portrait artist Gordon Wetmore of Signal Mountain has died.
His subjects have included President Richard Nixon, Princess Grace, Jack Nicklaus and Norman Vincent Peale as well as prominent Chattanoogans such as J. Park McCallie, former Senator and U.S. Secretary of Education Bill Brock and SunTrust Chairman Scott L. Probasco, Jr.
Mr. Wetmore was the founding chairman of the Portrait Society of America, the largest of its kind in the world, and had served as chairman since its founding in 1998. Its board of advisors include world-renowned portrait artists Raymond Kinstler, Daniel Greene and Burton Silverman. Winners of the Portrait Society's Gold Medal for lifetime achievement include Jamie Wyeth, William Draper and Nelson Shanks.
Mr. Wetmore traveled to Ireland and to Israel for long stays to paint hundreds of scenes in those iconic places. His work was featured in Ireland published by Thomas Nelson with a foreword by Princess Grace and in Promised Land published by Galahad Books with a foreword by Leon Uris.
He is survived by his wife, Connie, and three daughters, Amy, Alexandra and Abigail.
Funeral arrangements are by Chattanooga Funeral Home, East Chapel.
An official of the Portrait Society of America said earlier this week, "We are setting up a Facebook page so that members from all over the world can post their well wishes and comments."