Read more in Montpelier’s The Bridge HERE
Read our press release from last May here
The Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village was integral in the portrait process for the last year plus. The Friends of the Statehouse and Vermont Curator’s Office led the effort, leaning on the museum’s resources and knowledge of Mr. Twilight to help artist Katie Runde fully understand the person he was.
The portrait now hangs in the main lobby of the State House. In attendance at the ceremony from the museum were Board of Trustees President Carmen Jackson, Trustee Roger Shultz, Associate Director of Operations Bob Hunt, Associate Director of Collections and Interpretations Spencer Kuchle, Executive Director Molly Veysey and Advisory Board members Eve Carnahan-Jacobs and Vicki Strong. They celebrated along with numerous community members and supporters including from Friends of the State House, the Vermont Curator’s Office, state senators and representatives. Vermont Governor Phil Scott and Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray kicked off the two-hour long list of speakers, all commemorating the first person of color (Mr. Twilight) to be represented in the halls of “the peoples’ house.”
Jackson spoke to the crowd of about 100 people, saying “Alexander has been referred to as revolutionary. I prefer to think of him as evolutionary. An example of what can be achieved when an individual puts no limits on his own possibilities and those around him place no boundaries on what he could do. He improved his own situation and favorably influenced thousands of others.”
The Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village is recognized as Mr. Twilight’s chosen home and the most important remaining legacy of his notable life. Executive Director Molly Veysey invited the crowd to visit the museum and historic village in Brownington, Vermont.
“Come and see what the Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village is all about. Come walk in the footprints of Alexander Twilight and feel the spirit he left there. It is palpable— you’ll feel it when you arrive,” she said.
