The Mysterious Painting’s Origin
Of all of the pieces of set dressing used in the series, there is none more iconic than the painting of a man’s face that appears in Will’s apartment. Fans of the show have speculated that the painting may depict Eric McCormack himself, or even actor Desi Arnaz, but production designer Glenda Rovello set the record straight. She revealed, “It’s a friend of a friend’s painting.” And the painting is an original, unsigned oil painting found by set decorator Melinda Ritz. But currently, the painting found a new home as part of the Smithsonian’s LGBT history collection.