Robert H. Jackson’s portrait from his time as attorney general now hangs in Attorney General William Barr’s conference room. It was moved there, according to the Wall Street Journal, after Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein left office earlier this year. Photo courtesy justice.gov

Robert H. Jackson is best known as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court and as chief U.S. prosecutor of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg.

But before his appointment to those high-profile offices, the Spring Creek-born Jackson served in several high-ranking offices within the Department of Justice, including about 18 months as attorney general prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court.

One of the perks of serving as attorney general? A formal portrait.

And that portrait is currently a hot commodity at the DOJ – recently moving from Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein’s office to that of current Attorney General William Barr.

The current location of the portrait was highlighted in a July 13 Wall Street Journal article.

John Q. Barrett, a law professor at St. John’s University whose Jackson List provides unique insights into the life and career of Jackson, detailed the location of the portrait in a recent post.

Barrett wrote that President Roosevelt appointed Jackson – and the Senate confirmed – three separate appointments within the DOJ – assistant attorney general in 1936, solicitor general in 1938 and in January 1940 as attorney general.

“The Department then arranged for Jackson’s official AG portrait to be painted,” Barrett said. “John Christensen Johansen, one of America’s most noted portrait painters, produced it in fall 1942 following sittings with Jackson.”

The recent coverage from the Wall Street Journal stems from what happens to those portraits when turnover hits high-ranking DOJ positions, attorney general included.

“By custom,” Barrett wrote, “a perk of serving as a senior DOJ official is the right to choose, in office rank order, which former AG portrait(s) one wishes to hang in his and her offices and conference rooms.”

The Wall Street Journal details the current location of the Jackson portrait – Barr’s conference room – under the headline “Justice Department Chiefs Can’t Get Enough of the Patron Saint of the Rule of Law,” calling Jackson a “rare figure whose reputation transcends partisanship.”

The WSJ cites a conversation between Rosenstein and Barr and quotes Barr as saying “Rod, I won’t take it now, but I want you to know. I’m going to take that once you’re gone.”

The WSJ reported that Rosenstein has “often looked to Justice Jackson as a source of inspiration during his tumultuous two years as the department’s No. 2, citing him so often his staff members would compete to find fresh quotes for him to use” with a friend joking that “he invoked Justice Jackson ‘5.2 times every hour.'”

The report indicates that the antitrust division, which Jackson led, was “recently renamed” in his honor. “Artifacts from his life are collected there: His certificate of admission to the District of Columbia bar, a photo of one of his prized horses nibbling his ear. They’d love to find a way to show his letters and writings, too, perhaps in a shadow box or scrolling monitor.”

Rosenstein also told the WSJ that “I was fascinated to learn that he dealt with challenges similar to mine.”

Barrett wrote in the Jackson List that the portrait has “been, over the years in high demand.”

He outlined that the portrait hung in multiple solicitors general offices or conference rooms – Seth Waxman (1997-2001) and Paul Clement (2005-2008).

It also was located in two attorneys general offices of conference rooms – Michael B. Mukasey (2007-2009) and Eric Holder (2009-2015).

“Solicitor General Donald B. Verilli, Jr. (2011-2016) could not get the Jackson portrait away from AG Holder, so Verrilli had a copy made and kept that in his office,” Barrett added.

He noted the portrait was in Rosenstein’s conference room from 2017 until this year.

“The day after Mr. Rosenstein departed in May,” the WSJ concluded, “staffers returned the painting to Mr. Barr’s office.”

Jackson Portrait