U.S. Capitol Historical Society Fall 2007 Symposium
Friday, October 26, 2007
Room G-50
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Corner of First Street and Constitution Avenue, NE
Washington, DC
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Registration and Coffee: 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM
Morning Session:
9:00 AM Gordon Brown, “Polymath in the Federal City: Capitol Architect William Thornton and the Cultural Life of Early Washington, D.C."
Gordon Brown, author of Toussaint’s Clause, turns his attention to the fascinating story of William Thornton, the first Architect of the Capitol, and his role in the cultural and social development of the nation’s capital. As one of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia and later as head of the Patent Office, Thornton was closely associated with George Washington and other Federalist leaders.
9:45 AM Todd Larkin, Whose "State Portraits"? Assessing Republican and Royalist Interests in the Development of Trans-Atlantic Political Culture, ca. 1779-1785
Montana University Professor of art Todd Larkin is the author of the forthcoming book, Marie-Antoinette and Her Portraits: The Politics of Queenly Self-Imaging in Late Eighteenth-Century France, to be published by the University of Delaware Press. Professor Larkin was a recipient of a U.S. Capitol Historical Society Fellowship to study the portraits of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI given by France to the U.S. Congress.
10:30 AM Morning Break
10:45 AM Arthur S. Marks on B. Henry Latrobe’s national orders
Arthur S. Marks will discuss one of the most popular architectural features of the U.S. Capitol, the use of American agricultural products—tobacco and corn—in the column capital designs by B. Henry Latrobe, the second Architect of the Capitol.
Lunch Break: 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Afternoon Session: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
1:00 PM Benjamin Schwantes, “From Pulleys to Peristyle: Poole & Hunt and the Construction of the U.S. Capitol Dome”
Benjamin Schwantes examines the contributions of the Baltimore foundry of Poole & Hunt in the construction of the Capitol dome in the mid-nineteenth century. Schwantes is a student of nineteenth century engineering and innovation and a recipient of a U.S. Capitol Historical Society Fellowship.
1:45 PM Katherine Manthorne, “Vixen or Visionary: Vinnie Ream and the Art World of the 1870s”
Katherine Manthorne is professor of art at the Graduate Center, CUNY, and the author of several books on the art of the United States and Latin America. She will discuss the sculptor of the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Capitol rotunda, Vinnie Ream, within the context of the art world of the 1870s.
Reception Following
Free and open to the public.
Pre-registration is encouraged, though not required. Email uschs@uschs.org or call (202) 543-8919 x. 38 with your name, address, phone number, and email address.
Donations gladly accepted. Mail a check made out to USCHS or call (202) 543-8919 to donate by credit card.
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