The portrait, to be painted by artist Stan Strickland, will hang in the Lady’s Parlor of the Mansion. The grant was awarded June 9 at a meeting hosted by Georgia Military College in the legislative chamber of the Old Capitol Building. It was the result of a series of events that was set in motion over six months ago, said Edward Shelor, assistant professor of history and chair of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division at GMC.

“As a commissioner I became aware of the grants and thought Milledgeville would be perfect fit for the purpose of the grants, which is to help advance historical tourism in Georgia,” he said. “Once Matt (Davis) was informed of the opportunity, he put together a first-class grant application based on the GCWC requirements and it was submitted for consideration. At the commission meeting there was some stiff competition for grant money but I'm quite pleased to report that the grant for Elizabeth Grisham Brown's portrait was the only one fully funded. It is a good example of community teamwork making Milledgeville better place to visit and live.”

Davis, who is assistant curator of education at the Mansion, said he is pleased that Shelor and the commission recognized the value of the project.

“We feel confident that this portrait will be a great addition to our collections and will provide new insights into the role of the First Lady in the Mansion's history,” he said.

The Mansion contains portraits of seven of the governors who resided in the Mansion when Milledgeville served as Georgia’s capital, but only one portrait of a First Lady – that of Mary Ann Cobb, wife of Gov. Howell Cobb – is currently hanging in the Mansion, said Jim Turner, director of the Mansion.

“The governor’s wives played an important role in the lives of the governors of Georgia, particularly Mrs. Elizabeth Brown,” he said. “During the tumultuous years of the Civil War, many women would seek personal intercession to Gov. Brown in an attempt to do something about the price of salt or to get their husband or son home from the conflict, since men were desperately needed to help bring in the harvest and to run the farm or plantation. In the historic house museum setting, visuals are key to a proper interpretation. Since we discuss women’s history in the lady’s parlor, Mrs. Brown’s portrait will contribute a great deal in bringing the room to life. I am very grateful to the GCWC for their generosity.”

The original portrait of Elizabeth Grisham Brown, wife of Gov. Joseph E. Brown, was owned by a descendant of the family, who gave the Old Governor’s Mansion permission to have a copy painted. Brown served as Georgia's governor during three important periods of history: the Antebellum period, the Civil War, and the beginning of Reconstruction.

This will be the second copy of a portrait painted by Strickland for the Mansion. A portrait of Gov. George Washington Bonaparte Towns that hangs in the Family Dining Room of the Mansion, is also his work.

"I was quite pleased with Stan's work on the portrait of Governor Towns that he copied for us a few years ago,” said Turner. “Given his professionalism and attention to detail, he was selected for this commission.”

About the Old Governor’s Mansion
Completed in 1839, the Old Governor’s Mansion is one of the finest examples of High Greek Revival architecture in the nation. Serving as the residence for Georgia’s chief executives for more than 30 years, the Mansion’s history encompasses the antebellum, Civil War, and early Reconstruction phases of the state’s history. Following the war, Georgia’s seat of government was relocated to Atlanta, and the Mansion was abandoned. Given over to Georgia Normal & Industrial College (now Georgia College) in 1889, the Mansion served as the founding building of the institution and is the campus’s most treasured structure.

Beginning in the late 1990s, an initiative was begun to return the Mansion to its antebellum splendor. Following five years of intensive historical, structural, and material research, the Old Governor’s Mansion began its long awaited historic restoration in November of 2001. Funded through the Georgia General Assembly and a generous grant from the Woodruff Foundation, over three years of painstaking work has restored the original layout, colorations, lighting, and appearance of the building. The Old Governor’s Mansion now serves as an historic house museum, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973.

About the Georgia Civil War Commission
The Georgia Civil War Commission was created by the 1993 Georgia General Assembly and consists of members appointed by the governor of Georgia, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the lieutenant governor. The Commission’s mandate is to coordinate planning, preservation, and promotion of structures, buildings, sites, and battlefields associated with this significant period of our common heritage, to develop a Georgia Civil War Sites Heritage plan, and to acquire or provide funds for the acquisition of Civil War battlefields, cemeteries, and other historic properties.

About Stan Strickland
Stan Strickland began his painting career in 1971, and by 1975 had emerged as a fulltime professional. Since then he has taught art both privately and in the public school system and as artist-in-residence at Georgia College & State University. Winner of many regional and several national awards, his work now hangs in private and corporate collections throughout the United States and abroad. His success in published limited editions of his work is well known with the most popular of these being his series Speaking Highly of the South, a sensitive and dignified portrayal of the South during the Civil War.

For more information about the Old Governor’s Mansion, contact Jim Turner, director; or Matt Davis, assistant curator of education, at (478) 445-4545, or go to the Old Governor’s Mansion website at: http://www2.gcsu.edu/mansion/