There At the Resignation: James McHenry

Over the past several months, we have covered many of the key players in the Old Senate Chamber’s history, several of whom will be featured in our exhibit. From Molly Ridout to John Shaw, we have introduced you to famous attendees and artisans alike. Now, with only a short time to go until the opening of the restored room, we bring you one last biography of the man who provided one of the most significant accounts of the resignation - one of Maryland’s delegates in Congress, James McHenry.

Pastel portrait of James McHenry, by De Nyse W. Turner after James Sharples, 1975. Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 1545-1029.

What's Next for the Maryland State House?

The Old Senate Chamber is only a few weeks away from opening, but we hope you don’t get the wrong idea that that is the end of our work for the Maryland State House! Rather, the Old Senate Chamber fits into a larger plan that seeks to restore the Maryland State House, enhance visitor experience, and maintain the building and its grounds for future generations. While perhaps one of the most famous, the Old Senate Chamber is far from the only structure on the State House grounds with a long and impressive story. From the Old House of Delegates Chamber where the Constitution of 1864 was signed to one of the original cannons that came to Maryland on the Ark and the Dove, Maryland’s State House is a building we must preserve.

Artistic sketch of the Old Treasury Building from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, from a sketch by Joseph Becker, 1881. Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 4314-1-3.

Conserving Maryland's Masterpieces

With Washington Resigning His Commission soon to return to its home at the Maryland State House, and the Old Senate Chamber project hurtling towards completion, we thought it was time to give a little insight into the work that went into many of our great pieces conserved over the past year. Edwin White’s Washington Resigning, Charles Willson Peale’s portraits of the six governors, William Pitt, and Washington, Lafayette, & Tilghman at Yorktown have all undergone conservation work as part of the Old Senate Chamber restoration.

Staff at Olin Conservation, Inc. show areas on Charles Willson Peale's Washington, Lafayette, & Tilghman that will require further investigation. Image by Maryland State Archives, 26 March 2014.