Miami-Dade paid more than $4K for three portraits of the same county commissioner

Before Commissioner Oliver Gilbert’s likeness became the inaugural installation of a new portrait wall in the Miami-Dade County Commission chambers this month, the county paid $4,500 for two other paintings of him that weren’t used, according to records and interviews.

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When fellow commissioners and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava gathered July 13 for the unveiling of a portrait wall to honor former board chairs, a painting of a smiling Gilbert was revealed to applause in the chambers.

“It’s a very special occasion today,” Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez said during the ceremony. “The Chairman’s portrait collection will serve as a lasting tribute.”

The portrait, a print of a painting commissioned by Miami Gardens five years ago to honor Gilbert’s time as mayor of that city, only cost Miami-Dade $280, according to an invoice provided to the Miami Herald through a request for public records.

But other invoices tell the story of a pricier artistic process that was undertaken in pursuit of getting a portrait of Gilbert, who served as board chair between 2022 and 2024 and who is now running in the Democratic primary to succeed Rep. Frederica Wilson in Congress.

Records show county staffers commissioned two paintings that did not end up being hung on the portrait wall, for a total of $4,500. Gilbert’s office did not address questions from the Herald regarding why the county ordered the two portraits that weren’t hung in the commission chambers, or why neither was used. The Herald sent similar questions to the commission’s media office, which works under Rodriguez, but got no response.

The first artist to give it a shot, Rahiem Milton, got hired in November. Within a month, the artist out of Miami produced an acrylic painting of a smiling Gilbert in a blue suit, based on a photo sent to him by a commission staffer in Rodriguez’s office, Milton said in an interview.

Miami-Dade paid him $2,000 for the work, according to county records. Milton said he delivered the portrait to County Hall in December but soon heard the painting didn’t meet expectations.

“I honestly don’t know what the issue was,” Milton told the Herald. “I was dumbfounded.”

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He sent the Herald a photo of his Gilbert work while it was still on the easel. A county staffer sent Milton a photo of Gilbert with the instruction “Please use the attached photo for the portrait. Thank you,” according to a screenshot of the exchange that Milton shared with the Herald. The text message included the photo of Gilbert in a light blue suit and a striped red necktie.

A few weeks after Milton delivered his $2,000 Gilbert portrait, a commission staffer signed a different artist to paint a second Gilbert portrait for $2,500, according to a pair of invoices provided to the Herald through the records request.

Sitki Dogan, an artist out of Lake Worth, sent an invoice for a $1,250 deposit to Gilbert’s office on Dec. 26. A second invoice for the final $1,250 payment was dated July 17 and also went to Gilbert’s office.

Dogan said he was sent the same photograph as Milton for his painting of Gilbert. He also shared a photo of his completed work with the Herald. It appears similar to the Milton portrait, but with an American flag and the Miami-Dade County seal added to the background. Dogan said he delivered the painting and was paid full price for his work.

Gilbert, who represents the Miami Gardens area as Miami-Dade’s District 1 commissioner, declined an interview request.

Every other year, commissioners elect one of their own to serve as chair of the board. Rodriguez chose Gilbert’s likeness to inaugurate the new portrait gallery honoring former chairs.

In response to the Herald’s questions, Gilbert’s office issued a statement that said in part: “The Office of Chairman Anthony Rodriguez contacted the District 1 office with regards to a new tradition of hanging the portraits of past chairpersons of the county commission in the Commission Chambers. Portraits were produced from pictures that were submitted to artists.”

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