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The Honourable James Horace King, 1945-1949

The Senate commissions a portrait of every Speaker in recognition of the procedural and protocol importance of that role — a tradition that predates Confederation. 

The subject of this portrait, the Honourable James Horace King, was a doctor-turned-politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia before his election to the House of Commons in 1922. He served in six cabinet positions and was appointed to the Senate in 1930.

Mr. King was named Speaker in 1945, months after he was a Canadian delegate at a conference that would lead to the creation of the United Nations. He presided over the Red Chamber for four years and died in office in 1955.

The Speaker can choose the artist for whom they would like to sit; Mr. King selected Kenneth Forbes, a notable Canadian landscape and portrait painter. Mr. Forbes served as an official war artist during the First World War and received the Order of Canada in 1967 for his artistic contributions.

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