Welsh was elected governor of Indiana in 1960 and held the office until 1965. During his time in office, he implemented the state's first sales tax. Welsh was also a civil rights advocate, and signed a 1963 civil rights bill. Welsh ran for governor a second time in 1972, but lost to Otis R. Bowen; he then returned to his law practice. Welsh lived by the motto, "It never costs you to be a gentleman." The bust of Matthew E. Welsh was commissioned by Welsh's law firm, Bingham, Summers, Welsh & Spilman. The law firm commissioned the bust in 1996, one year after Welsh's death (in 1995, at the age of 82). William Moreau, a partner in the firm, stated, "He [Welsh] was instrumental in the growth of our firm...We wanted to try to establish a permanent memorial to him" (qtd. in ). In early 1996, the firm commissioned sculptor Daniel Edwards to create the bust. Edwards, a native of Indiana (he was born in La Porte, Indiana in 1965), also sculpted the Workers' Memorial Sculpture at the Indiana Government Center. Bingham, Summers, Welsh & Spilman, the law firm that commissioned the bust, wanted it placed in the Indiana Statehouse. Obtaining permission to do so required working with multiple government officials, including the Senate President Pro Tempore, the House Minority Leader, the House Speaker, the Governor, and the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Administration. The bust was finally dedicated on December 20, 1996, in a ceremony on the third floor of the Indiana Statehouse. Speakers at the ceremony included then-governor Evan Bayh, as well as Welsh's Lieutenant Governor, Richard Ristine, and Welsh's granddaughter, Kathryn Clendenin. Other attendees included Vincennes, Indiana Mayor Howard Hatcher and his legislative liaison, Matthew Hopper. (Welsh had lived much of his life in Vincennes.) Of the dedication, Hatcher stated, "It was very warming to see this bronze bust." (qtd. in ) The bust remains on the third floor of the Indiana Statehouse, near the Senate Chambers.