432/Maryland Manual

Senate President, and one delegate, appointed by
the House Speaker (Code State Government Arti-
cle, secs. 9-1001 through 9-1006).

COMMISSION ON ARTISTIC PROPERTY
Chairperson: Oden Bowie

Nancy Brennan; William Voss Elder III; Sara
Barker Hanan; Dorothy Mcllvain Scott.

Ex officio: Winfield M. Kelly, Jr., Secretary of State;
Mary Pringle Symonds, President, Historic
Annapolis, Inc.; Dr. Kcnneih N. Weaver, Director,
Maryland Geological Survey

Secretary: Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, State Archivist
Nancy M. Bramucci, Curator

State Archives
350 Rowe Blvd.
Annapolis, MD 21401 974-3915

The Commission on Artistic Property was cre-
ated in 1969 (Chapter 111, Acts of 1969). It was
incorporated into the State Archives in 1984
(Chapter 286, Acts of 1984).

The Commission keeps a continuing inventory
of valuable paintings and other decorative arts in all
State buildings in the Annapolis area. The Commis-
sion also provides for the location, proper care,
custody, restoration, display, and preservation of
these paintings and decorative arts. Every person,
agency, or organization desiring to acquire a paint-
ing or other decorative art work for display in a
State building or premises in the Annapolis area
must secure from the Commission bodi prior ap-
proval and final acceptance of the painting or dec-
orative art work. In such instances, the Commission
considers the competence of the artist or creator,
the proposed location, and the quality, historical
significance, and appropriateness of the work.

The Commission may with the approval of the
Governor and the State Archivist, receive and ac-
cept gifts and loans of paintings and decorative art
works. With the approval of the Governor, the State
Archivist may accept gifts of money for the Com-
mission from any source, public or private, and
thereafter administer and expend the funds accord-
ing to the conditions and terms of the gift.

The Commission consists of eight members ap-
pointed by the State Archivist with the approval of
the Governor. At least one member must represent
a cultural institution in Maryland. Three members
serve ex officio. The State Archivist, with the ap-
proval of the Governor, designates the chairperson
(Code State Government Article, secs. 9-1016
through 9-1023).

MARYLAND OFFICE FOR THE
BICENTENNIAL OF THE U.S.
CONSTITUTION

Director:
Dr. Gregory A. Saverson, Assistant State Archivist

State Archives
350 Rowe Blvd.
Annapolis, MD 21401 974-3864

The Maryland Office for the Bicentennial of the
U.S. Constitution was established in March 1985
within the State Archives (General Assembly Res-
olution no. 506). The Office is responsible for State
programs marking the bicentennial of the establish-
ment of the federal government and of the writing
and adoption of the Bill of Rights.

The Office planned and coordinated activities
commemorating Maryland's role in the creation and
adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Among these
was the four-day commemoration of the Annapolis
Convention Bicentennial in September 1986. The
Annapolis Convention, which met in Maryland's
capital city on September 11-14, 1786, issued the
call for the Philadelphia Convention of 1787,
charging it with the responsibility of devising a
system of government for the United States that
would be "adequate to the exigencies of the
Union."

From May 25 to September 17,1987, the Office
coordinated Maryland's observance of the bicen-
tennial of the Philadelphia Convention that drafted
the U.S. Constitution. The Office also organized a
four-day observance of the bicentennial of
Maryland's ratification as the seventh state, April
28—May 1,1988.

The Office recreated the fifteen-foot miniature
ship Federalist as a focal point for Maryland's cele-
bration of the Constitution bicentennial. Built en-
tirely with private funds, the Maryland Federalist
was christened at the Annapolis City Dock on June
13, 1987, and commissioned at Fort McHenry on
June 14, 1987. The ship made its public debut in
the Grand Federal Procession in Philadelphia on
September 17,1987, and will tour Maryland until
1991 before retiring to a museum as a permanent
educational exhibit.

The Office has developed a variety of educa-
tional materials, including a week-long elementary
school unit,Marylandandthe U.S. Constitution, and
a twelve-page newspaper, the Maryland Bicenten-
nial Gazette, for high school students and adults.