[photograph of a portrait of Dorothy Byron Lane]

Dorothy Byron Lane (c.1897-1993)

MSA SC 1545-1184. 1961 by Stanislaw Rembski (b. 1896). Commissioned by legislature at suggestion of Mrs. J. Millard Tawes.

Dorothy Byron Lane was the wife of William Preston Lane, Jr., the fifty-second governor of Maryland, serving in office from 1947-1951. Born in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, her family moved to Hagerstown when she was two. They lived across the street from the family of William "Pres" Lane, Jr. whom she married on January 17, 1922. The Lanes had two daughters, Dorothy (Lane) Campbell, and Jean (Lane) Goddard. Mrs. Lane was a member of the Hagerstown Garden Club, Arts and Letters Club, and Women's Club. While First Lady, she took an active interest in presenting Government House to the public, often inviting groups to tour, particularly children. At the end of her husband's administration, Mrs. Lane presented Government House with the painting, "The Sharpe Family," featuring Royal Governor Horatio Sharpe. She purchased the painting with funds saved from the housekeeping allowance. It remains one of the finest portraits in the state's collection and now hangs in the state dining room of Government House.


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