The Washington delegation shares a class pet of sorts: an undated, unattributed painting of a fuzzy yellow chick freshly hatched from the egg, a bright subject against a solid black background.
On Friday, all 10 House members from Washington state gathered in Rep. Emily Randall’s office to celebrate the custodial transfer of “The Chick.” None of the members loves the piece for its artistic merits, not even the original owner. According to lore, Rep. Joel Pritchard was gifted the painting in 1972 by a friend who purchased it at a charity auction. Pritchard started the bipartisan tradition by bequeathing it to newly elected Rep. Norman Dicks a few years later.
“I guess you could loosely say that this was art, right?” Rep. Dan Newhouse mused.
“‘Painting’ is a generous term for that thing,” Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez said. “I think it’s like a visual rash we all hang in the bathroom.”
“It’s not the prettiest painting just as a work of art, but in terms of its value to the state, it’s priceless just because of the historical and cultural significance,” Rep. Michael Baumgartner said. “It’s a one of one.”
According to the unofficial rules of the painting, members should display the piece prominently in their office and not alter it in any way, lest they bring bad luck upon their next election. Each person signs the back of the canvas to mark the end of their tenure, and on Friday, Baumgartner became the 32nd signatory before handing the painting to Randall.
He also surprised his colleagues with a new wooden frame and a metal name plate inscribed: “Baby Jay.” Because former Democratic Rep. and Gov. Jay Inslee didn’t sign the painting, Baumgartner said he wanted to make sure he was included in some way.
“I can’t wait to hear what the governor thinks about being hung in our bathroom,” Randall said as she accepted the painting.
Baumgartner’s move shocked the rest of the delegation, including Rep. Kim Schrier, who held the picture during the 116th Congress. She had a lot of ideas for the chick herself — at first.
“So I came up in a big upset, the first Democrat ever in this seat, and I really wanted to brighten that thing up,” Schrier said. “I wanted to give it a new frame. I wanted to put some clouds and sunshine behind it. I really wanted to alter it; I wanted that chick to look happy. I did not dare tempt fate.”
Inslee, who broke the streak of signatories, lost his first reelection bid in 1994. (He returned to the House later and served another 13 years.)
Baumgartner represents a solidly Republican seat, which keeps him safe from the painting’s electoral influence, Schrier joked.
Randall, the new keeper of the chick, also prefers bright colors to the stark hues of “The Chick.” So the Democrat designed her office bathroom around it: The walls are covered in brightly colored floral wallpaper from drag queen RuPaul’s line to allow the black background of the painting to pop.
“Truly a feature,” Randall said. “I also ordered another bird-themed piece of art to tie it together, also in shades of yellow and black.”
Now the painting will be a focal point as she pushes back against a House policy barring transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the Capitol. Soon after taking office, Randall announced on social media that her office’s bathroom would be open to all.
“That’s immediately when I thought, ‘We should hang the chick pic there,’ because the bylaws or the lore or whatever says that if you hide it, you will lose your next election,” she said. “Our bathroom is, like, the feature of our office.”
In years with multiple newcomers from the state, they split custody of the painting. Baumgartner held it for the first half of the 119th Congress, while Randall will keep it until the beginning of the next. They expect at least one new member to join their cohort in 2027, as Newhouse, one of the delegation’s two Republicans, is retiring at the end of this term.
He received the painting from former representative and current Washington Lt. Gov Denny Heck in 2015 and handed it off to Rep. Pramila Jayapal after her election in 2016.
“It’s one of those things that brings us together,” he said. “We’re all very good friends, whether we agree on policy issues 100 percent of the time or not. We do get along very well, and I think that’s a very healthy thing.”
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