The Owensboro Museum of Fine Art was created in 1977 — a year after the nation’s Bicentennial.
But it’s going all out for this year’s Sestercentennial — the nation’s 250th birthday.
Jason Edward Hayden, the museum’s executive director, said a highlight of “Kentucky 250,” which is sponsored by Owensboro Health, will be the unveiling of portraits of Col. Abraham Owen, for whom the city is named, and his wife, Martha Dupuy Owen.
The portraits are on loan from the Stacy family of Charleston, South Carolina, he said.
Those portraits will be displayed along with a portrait of Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, for whom Daviess County was misspellingly named, that is already in the museum’s collection.
Both men died in the battle of Tippecanoe on Nov. 7, 1811.
The exhibition will open with a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on June 27 at the museum.
Hayden said the reception will feature reenactors of three important figures from the American Revolution.
McCellus Mayes will portray Crispus Attucks, who is considered the first casualty of the Revolutionary War, having died during the Boston Massacre.
Thomas Moseley, an Owensboroan and a member of the 9th Virginia regiment, will be portrayed by Asa Seiber.
And Jeff Stokes will portray Capt. John Parker, who commanded the Minutemen who fought at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.
The historic reenactors are sponsored by Modern Welding and Gene and Jacquie Howard.
They will also be in the museum galleries on June 28 from 1 to 4 p.m.
A number of art works from the museum’s collection that explore Kentucky history will be featured in the exhibit.
Hayden said, “A meticulously researched American Colonial Day Dress by Paula Alex Naas, a handcrafted Frontier ‘Possibles’ bag by Joe Mills and a traditionally forged knife by bladesmith Max Soaper highlight the skill, craftsmanship and material culture that shaped everyday life in Kentucky’s early history.”
Also showcased are miniature replicas of early American ships by Bardstown artist Jim Cantrell and several examples of “Ships in Bottles” by Owensboro artist Greg Alvey.
Leitchfield quilters Sharon Duke and Linda Gentry created a “Teaching Wall Hanging” that depicts historical events leading to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
On loan from the Hancock County Museum and Historical Society is a handmade replica of the steamboat Robert E. Lee, by Hawesville artist Franklin Meserve.
And a needlepoint by artist John Schleicher rounds out the exhibition that highlights the state’s artistic heritage, family traditions and human connection with maritime technology.
The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has loaned three graphic reproductions from William D. T. Travis’s Civil War panorama.
The original work stretched over 500 feet of canvas.
David Taylor, an expert in early Kentucky art and owner of David Taylor Antiques, said, “The Owensboro Museum of Fine Art is providing a not-to-be-missed opportunity. The KY250 exhibition has assembled a remarkable and historically significant collection of paintings by many of Kentucky’s finest 18th and early 19th century artists.”
Dr. R. Wathen Medley and Jeanette Napier Medley, Greg Alvey, Dr. James F. Naas and Mrs. Paula Alex Naas, Jason Edward Hayden, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the Kentucky Historical Society, Jim Cantrell, Jamie DeWitt, Sharon Duke and Linda Gentry, the Stacy family and the Hancock County Museum and Historical Society all contributed to the exhibit.
It will continue through July 12.
Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Keith Lawrence Messenger-Inquirer