The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery installed a portrait of Tommy Lasorda, Hall of Fame manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday, Sept. 22. Painted by artist Everett Raymond Kinstler, the life-sized portrait measures 60 by 50 inches and was commissioned to commemorate Lasordas legacy as part of the Dodgers organization. Sept. 22 was Lasordas 82nd birthday and the first night of a three-game series between the Dodgers and the Washington Nationals in Washington, D.C. The portrait is on view in the museums exhibition New Arrivals on the first floor through Nov. 15, 2009. After a brief Major League career as a left-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Lasorda became one of the most enthusiastic and successful managers in baseball history. In his 20-year career as the Dodgers manager, Lasorda led the team to eight division titles and two World Championships. After his retirement, he became a Dodgers executive, and this year marks his 60th season with the Dodger organization and his fifth year as special advisor to the chairman. Lasorda was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997, and he managed the U.S. team to its first-ever baseball gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Kinstler has painted more than 1,200 portraits of well-known personalities and public figures. The Portrait Gallerys collection includes paintings and sketches of Katharine Hepburn, Tony Bennett, Richard Nixon, Norman Rockwell and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Lasorda sat for the portrait at Kinstlers National Arts Club studio in New York City in June 2009. The portrait is a gift from friends of Lasorda. For more on Tommy Lasordas portrait, see the National Portrait Gallerys blog at: http://face2face.si.edu/my_weblog/2009/09/tommy-lasorda-joins-the-collection-of-the-national-portrait-gallery-.html Image info: Thomas Charles Lasorda / Everett Raymond Kinstler / Oil on canvas / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
