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Justice Clarence Thomas’ portrait now hangs at Yale University’s law school six years after a donor paid for the painting.
The portrait hangs in the Alumni Reading Room in the Sterling Law Library, according to Yale Daily News. A College Fix reporter confirmed the location in late October.
A group that promotes free speech and conservative values at Yale thanked the unknown employee who finally hung the painting of the 1974 law school graduate after years of delay.
“It is refreshing to see Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ portrait finally take its place alongside other prominent Yale alumni after 6 years of neglect,” Buckley Institute Executive Director Lauren Noble told The Fix via a media statement.
“It is encouraging to see such an outstanding figure finally receive some recognition from his alma mater for all he has accomplished,” Noble said. “Whoever made the decision to buck the orthodoxy at Yale Law School and at long last put the portrait up deserves credit for doing so.”
Conservative donor Harlan Crow funded the portrait in 2018 and a New York artist delivered the artwork to the school in 2019. For years, the school did not hang the portrait, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
In 2023, a College Fix editor attempted to enter the law school to look for the portrait but was turned away, despite the school claiming to offer “visitor” hours.
The university has not responded to four inquiries in the past two weeks asking what took so long to get the portrait hung and what will be done in the future to prevent a delay.
The Fix emailed the public affairs office for the law school on Oct. 22 and Oct. 27 but no one responded. A staffer told The Fix on the phone Monday someone would be responding.
However, the media team did not respond to a follow up email on Monday that asked for a response by the end of the day Tuesday.
The Yale Daily News reported that some students oppose the hanging of the portrait.
“What lesson is YLS teaching by elevating Clarence Thomas in this political moment,” Saman Haddad told the student newspaper. He is the student body president for the law school.
“The answer is clear,” Haddad said. “Our institutional values are defined by power, not principle.”
Conservative students had a different take.
“Justice Thomas is a trailblazer whose life and career embody perseverance, principle, and a deep commitment to the rule of law,” Andrew Liu, president of Yale Law Republicans, told the student newspaper. David Haungs, president of the campus Federalist Society, also signed the statement.
“We are proud to see Yale recognize his legacy and celebrate this tribute to one of the most distinguished jurists in American history,” the pair wrote.
The law school has faced criticism in the past several years for its handling of free speech issues.
In 2022, left-wing students shouted down and ultimately forced the cancellation of a Federalist Society event featuring Kristen Waggoner, the president of Alliance Defending Freedom, and Monica Miller of the American Humanist Society.
Dean Heather Gerken said the shout-down did not violate school policies.
The year prior, Yale law school administrators questioned and criticized a Native American student named Trent Colbert for sending out an email about an event using the term “trap house.” Gerken apologized for the situation.
She has subsequently left the university to lead the liberal Ford Foundation.
MORE: Black law students demand better access to Clarence Thomas course
