News Media
Replica of Famous Mural Makes Rounds Through City
The Capital, February 2, 2006
By Pete Holley, Staff Writer
At the depth of tedium, when stone-faced aldermen trade the English language for sleep-inducing, bureaucratic jargon, City Council meetings are made bearable by celebrated figures from Annapolis' past.
Rendered by artist Lee Boynton almost a decade ago, the massive images on the chamber's walls capture the city's Colonial beginnings.
"I'm trying to create history that draws you in," said Mr. Boynton. "A painting is a window into that period or scene."
These days, a 35-by-15-foot replica of Mr. Boynton's largest and most popular window, the vibrant mural depicting Royal Governor John Seymour's proclamation of the Annapolis charter in 1708, is on display outside City Hall for the first time.
Hanging from a wall at 95 West St., it's on its second stop in a two-year tour of Annapolis in anticipation of the city's 300th anniversary. The painting was first displayed on the Hillman Parking garage in October and will hit sites in each of the city's eight wards.
"It's almost like saying 'Welcome to Annapolis," said Carroll H. Hynson Jr., president of Image Power Inc. located at 95 West. "The painting explains our heritage and 300 years of existence."
The 1708 charter marks designation of Annapolis as a city, giving it the first locally elected representative government in Colonial Maryland. The charter is also considered the beginning of the struggle for freedom and voting rights for all citizens of Maryland.
"For many people it's very evocative," said Chuck Weikel, chairman of the Annapolis Charter 300 celebration. "There's a lot of historic accuracy to it and it's one of the few pieces that brings that period to life."
Rusty Kerber, who owns the Exxon station next door, said the colorful painting is already attracting attention.
He isn't used to wide-eyed drivers pulling into his tiny parking lot with camera phones in hand.
"It's getting a lot of attention because I see a people slow down to look at it," said Mr. Kerber. "Everybody I've talked to getting gas just loves it."
It took Mr. Boynton a year in 1994 and 1995 on the detailed painting as well as two others.
Working with a team of Colonial actors, archeologists, historians and archivists throughout the mid-Atlantic, Mr. Boynton scoured historical records to make the three paintings as historically accurate as possible. In addition to the City Charter painting, two others feature 17th century Puritan settlers trading with Native Americans along the Severn River in 1649 and laying out plans for the State House in downtown Annapolis in 1695. Richly colored, imposing and dramatic, all three paintings leave the viewer with a surreal sense of witnessing history. They hang in City Council chambers.
Mr. Boynton is proud his dramatic works have lifted many a drooping eye during late-night City Council meetings, but he's even more excited that his largest painting is moving into the city.
"It gives people an opportunity to make history come alive and be accessible as possible," he said.
To get involved or follow the progress of Annapolis Charter 300, visit www.AnnapolisCharter300.org or e-mail AC300@annapolis.gov.
Published February 2, 2006, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2006 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
