Honoring livestock industry leaders is the purpose of the Saddle and Sirloin portrait collection, which displays over 375 portraits at the Kentucky Exposition Center, the site of the North American Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky. Iowa State University now has a display of those who have a connection in Iowa.

“The portrait collection was started in 1903 at the Chicago Union Stock Yards, which was the site for the International Livestock Exposition. This is where the portraits hung for many years,” says Maynard Hogberg, 2016 portrait inductee and ISU professor emeritus of animal science.

WINNERS WITH ISU TIES: Of the more than 375 total Saddle and Sirloin portrait honorees, 35 have ties to Iowa State University and are on display in the Hansen Agricultural Student Learning Center on the campus. (ISU Department of Animal Science)

Honoring those who have ties to ISU was a conversation Hogberg started with college officials several years ago, and once the Hansen Agricultural Student Learning Center was completed, it seemed like a fitting place for the display.

“We have 35 photos of the portraits on display and a write-up about each honoree’s contributions to the university,” Hogberg adds. “It’s really pretty interesting to read about each one. Some were students and others, professors or department heads.”

Portrait club history

Livestock leaders, feeders, breeders, commissioners, politicians, academics and packers have been inducted in the Club through the years, representing all livestock species. While the portraits now all hang in Louisville, the honors began when the International Livestock Show was held at the Chicago Stock Yards, and they were displayed there until 1975. The first portrait hung in the club was of William Arnon Henry, the first dean of the College of Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin.

A 1934 fire at the Chicago Stock Yards destroyed a large portion of the stockyards and its buildings. Many portraits were destroyed in the fire, but within a week, the then-chairman of the Union Stock Yards had commissioned replacements for those lost.

Several inductees were added for many years, but in 1955, with limited wall space available at the club in Chicago, that ended. After moving the collection to Louisville in 1976, the first inductee was added to the collection in Louisville in 1978; since 1988, only one person has been inducted each year. 

“You can really learn a lot about the livestock industry in Iowa by reading about how each of these honorees impacted the lives of students and animal producers,” Hogberg says.

Hogberg says being inducted into the portrait club is certainly an honor, and he hopes those who visit the Hansen Center at ISU in Ames, Iowa, will take the time to see how each have made a difference in the livestock industry. “We’ve left room to add to this collection, because we know Iowa will continue to have people who deserve this honor,” he concludes.

Saddle and Sirloin portrait honorees have ISU ties

Many great names are included in the list of Saddle and Sirloin portrait honorees with ties to ISU. Charles Curtiss was inducted in 1915 and was ISU’s first professor of animal husbandry, later becoming the dean of agriculture. Curtiss Hall on the ISU campus is named in his honor.

In 1920, John Craig, the father of the technical art of livestock judging in America was inducted. He was a professor at ISU in the late 1890s. Guy Noble was an ISU graduate inducted in 1947. He is considered the father of 4-H. In 1956, Jay Lush had his portrait hung. Lush is the father of moder scientific animal breeding.

More recent inductees include Richard Willham in 2004. He was a professor for many years at ISU and developed expected progeny differences (EPDs) through his research. ISU professor emeritus and past head of the department of animal science, Maynard Hogberg was inducted in 2016, and is the most recent inductee.