USCHS's own William C. diGiacomanto-
nio wrapped up the six-part series with
a visual tour of depictions of George
Washington. C-SPAN recorded his
survey of the various ways artists have
portrayed Washington (and their vari-
ous purposes in doing so). (right)
42
THE CAPITOL DOME
Society Hosts Annual Summer Brown Bag Series
During an extended 2016 August brown bag lecture series, six presenters examined topics ranging from art in the Capitol to
DC around the turn of the twentieth century. C-SPAN covered several of the talks; to see them online, visit www.c-span.org and
search for the speaker's name (then click on "person" to see all videos featuring him or her) or for "U.S. Capitol Historical Society."
As always, each noon lecture was free and open to the public, and attendees enthusiastically questioned speakers after their
talks. Looking ahead to 2017, USCHS is already planning the annual Black History Month lecture and spring symposium on
the history of Congress. Recordings of past versions of those events can also be found on C-SPAN.
USCHS Fellow Dr. Debra Hanson and Chief
Historian William diGiacomantonio introduce
her presentation on William Powell's paint-
ing The Battle of Lake Erie. The research
behind that talk also produced the article on
the painting that begins on p. 13 of this issue
of The Capitol Dome. Powell painted during
the rise of photography as medium to depict
war; this work shows Commodore Oliver
Perry at a crucial moment during the 1813
battle on Lake Erie. (left)
Dr. Kathleen Bartoloni-Tuazon spoke about
her recent book, For Fear of an Elective
King: George Washington and the Presiden-
tial Title Controversy of 1789. Her presen-
tation included some of the proposed titles
for the new office of president of the United
States and noted George Washington's relief
when, after a prolonged and public debate,
a simple version was chosen. Bartoloni-
Tuazon signed copies of her book after the
talk and Q&A. (left)
Sometime USCHS board member (and author
of the article on p. 11) Dr. Ken Bowling spoke
about the ways that the idea of a westward
empire influenced thinking about the Ameri-
can Revolution and debates about building
the capital city. C-SPAN was on hand for this
event, which included audience questions on
slavery, Latin America, western exploration,
economics, and more. (left)
Artist Peter Waddell spoke about his process
for painting moments from history, both on
traditional canvases and in murals and old
police callboxes. USCHS interviewed him and
covered some additional facets of his work; see
p. 31 of this issue of The Capitol Dome. C-SPAN
recorded this event. (above)
Author Mark Ozer returned to discuss his lat-
est book, Washington DC, the National Shrine:
1890-1940. His talk focused on the early part of
this period, especially the construction of Union
Station. Ozer signed books afterward; C-SPAN
also recorded this talk. (above)
