Throw in the touchy subject of the governor's portrait and you have a potential political bomb.

Treading gingerly into treacherous Capitol Hill territory, a group of artists, architects and state lawmakers Tuesday approved tentative plans to move official portraits of Utah's 15 governors from the second to the first floor, creating a "Hall of Governors."

There are practical reasons for the move - better climate control, filtering of ultraviolet light, fewer holes in newly restored marble walls and more room for new portraits. Still, Capitol Curator Judith McConkie acknowledged the decision poses a "conundrum." Some might consider the new location a demotion in the hierarchy of Capitol real estate.

Until the building closed last year for restoration and a seismic upgrade, the governors' portraits were hung in the building's main floor - the second - along the walls under the rotunda. Now, each of 15 portraits - from Heber Wells to Olene Walker - will hang one floor down.

Besides allowing crews to patch the gray Georgia marble sheets lining the second-floor walls and creating a better physical environment for the art, the new space leaves room for another 10 portraits. Capitol managers considered stacking or rotating the paintings before settling on moving the whole collection.

"We have run out of room," says Capitol Architect David Hart.

In recent years, the portraits have become political hot potatoes. Superstitious governors have refused to hang paintings of still-living predecessors in the governor's office. Former Gov. Mike Leavitt commissioned two portraits because he reportedly did not like his expression in the first. It now hangs at Southern Utah University.

Former Gov. Olene Walker's portrait, featuring Utah's only female governor standing in the Governor's Mansion ballroom holding a children's book, has just been completed. The portraits range in value from $10,000 to $30,000, depending on the artist.

The state paid $23,000 for William Whitaker to paint Walker's likeness. The portrait of J. Bracken Lee, Utah's ninth governor, has the lowest appraised value: $10,000. The highest value, $30,000, is appraised for the portraits of Govs. Cal Rampton and Scott Matheson, both painted by artist Alvin Gittins.

Some of the paintings are temporarily boxed up. Others hang in the new state office building behind the Capitol. The portraits will be shipped to Denver for restoration - at a cost of $23,700 each - before being rehung when the building reopens in 2008.

Despite the possibility of hurt feelings from former governors, their family members or historical sticklers, committee members insist the new Hall of Governors will do the portraits justice.

"It's going to be one of the most important parts of the building," said Jordan Tanner, a former legislator and member of the art placement subcommittee.

The panel's recommendation will have to be approved by the full Capitol Preservation Board, which includes Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s chief of staff, Jason Chaffetz. Huntsman, Utah's 16th governor, has yet to commission his portrait.