The following spatial data visualization was created using the mapping software ArcGIS that allows users to plot locations and with time information showcase travel over time. The ArcGIS visualization maps all current known locations of portraits of Carleton College Presidents including pictures of the portraits and where the location of each has been from 2010 to 2026. Along with portraits, buildings named after presidents are outlined across the map of Carleton’s campus. You can explore the movement of all portraits or search for a specific president you are interested in.
Interact with the journey of each portrait below or in full screen here.
Breaking News: Portrait Held Hostage
A group of students, going by “The Gang of at Least Three and Not Over Sixteen Hundred,” stole a portrait of the first Carleton president James W. Strong from Laird in early November 1979 and replaced it with a day-glo velvet portrait of Elvis Presley. Shortly after the heist, Director of College Relations George Dehne received a ransom note demanding that he permanently enshrine Elvis in Sayles-Hill, rename the Great Hall after Monkees’ guitarist and Carleton alumnus Peter Tork, establish a fund for handicapped rock stars, appoint Coordinator of Campus Activities Paula Armagost Ambassador to Norway, and rename the Sayles-Hill snack bar.
When Dehne refused to negotiate, he was sent a Polaroid photograph of Strong with a knife at his throat. The Gang later sent a portrait of Strong’s severed ear. Frustrated by Dehne’s disregard for Strong’s safety, the Gang returned the portrait early in January 1980 on the condition of the establishment of a Tork memorial in Sayles-Hill.
Though the portrait had been returned to College custody months before, one of the Gang members (and future Carleton trustee), David Diamond ’80, was allowed to walk with Strong’s portrait for his 1980 Commencement march.
