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Pillars of Charity Portrait Gallery

Scottish Rite Hall of Honor 

Since 1991, one of the most impressive places on the tour of the House of the Temple has been the Scottish Rite Hall of Honor.  With the Pillars of Charity Alcove, it represents the highest level of recognition possible in the House of the Temple and is thus appropriately titled the “Supreme Temple Architects Hall of Honor.”  The Hall is a wood-paneled, custom-designed curving hall, which follows the line of the Temple’s magnificent rotunda directly above it.  A decade ago, it was simply a first-floor passageway from one side of the Temple to another.  Today, it is a favorite among visiting Brethren, ladies, and their guests because of its 32 original oil portraits of outstanding Scottish Rite Freemasons.  Each portrait is painted by Jean Pilk, a noted artist who has painted official portraits of such prominent Americans as Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and General Colin Powell, now Secretary of State.

The portraits in the Hall currently are Bros. Gene Autry, 33°, G.C.; Arleigh A. Burke, 33°; S. Barry Casey, 33°; George E. Dewese, 33°; Robert L. Dillard, Jr., 33°, G.C.; Robert J. Dole, 33°, G.C.; James H. Doolittle, 33°, G.C.; Sam J. Ervin, Jr., 33°, G.C.; John H. Glenn, Jr., 33°; Sam E. Hilburn, 33°; William Mercer Hollis, 33°; John Edgar Hoover, 33°, G.C.; Burl Ives, 33°, G.C.; Laurance Jones III, 33°; Douglas MacArthur, 33°; Abner V. McCall, 33°, G.C.; Edgar F. Magnin, 33°; Audie Murphy, 32°, K.C.C.H.; Sam Nunn, 33°, G.C.; Arnold D. Palmer, 33°; Norman Vincent Peale, 33°, G.C.; Will Rogers, 32°; Carl J. Sanders, 33°, G.C.; John Philip Sousa, 33° ; Dee A. Strickland, 33°; Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, 33°, G.C.; Harry S. Truman, 33°; Charles E. Webber, 33°; William Jarboe Wohlfarth, 33°; Henry Yaskal, 33°; Harold L. Gwatney, 33°, G.C.; Joseph H. S. Smith, 32nd; and William J. "Butch" Giles, Jr., 33rd.

Since the donation level for all of these later portraits is $1 million or more, the generosity of these donors or their sponsors has had a major and beneficial effect on our two Foundations, the House of the Temple Historic Preservation Foundation, Inc. and the Scottish Rite Foundation, Southern Jurisdiction, USA, Inc.  The first Foundation is crucial to the maintenance of the wonderful building that serves as the Scottish Rite headquarters and as a museum and public library.  The second Foundation continues to benefit our RiteCare centers for childhood language disorders, to provide academic scholarships, and to provide necessary funds for disaster relief.

(Click on a portrait below to see a larger version.)