What is New?

September 2008

The Sèvres Porcleain Plate on display in the Grills Gallery.

Objects from Montpelier's own museum collection and objects on loan from other museums' collections are featured in several exhibit galleries at Montpelier including the Joe and Marge Grills Gallery in the Montpelier Visitor Center and the "Public Places, Private Spaces: Reflections of the Madisons at Montpelier" exhibit in Montpelier's Education Center. This section of the website highlights the most recent objects added for display within these galleries.

In the Joe and Marge Grills Gallery, several objects have recently been placed on view as part of the continuing "Treasures of Montpelier" exhibit. These rare and fascinating objects include portraits and other  personal objects relating to James and Dolley Madison.  A portrait of James Madison by James Barton Longacre, painted at Montpelier in 1833 is on loan from a private collection and has returned to Montpelier for the first time since 1833. Longacre's portrait was later engraved by T. B. Welch for inclusion in Longacre's book, The National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans. 

Also present in the gallery is an 1819 plaster bas relief of Nelly Conway Madison, the President's mother, on loan from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. The piece was sculpted by Italian artist Pietro Cardelli, who had originally come to the United States to carve ornaments for the United States Capitol building. While in Washington, D.C. he obtained commissions for several portrait busts and in 1819 visited Montpelier where he sculpted a bust of James Madison. While at Montpelier Cardelli also apparently crafted a bas relief of Madison's 88 year old mother, Nelly Conway Madison. Like several other Madison pieces, this bas relief descended in the family of James C. McGuire, the administrator of Dolley Madison's estate, and was given to Monticello by his grandson.

Another fascinating item in the gallery is a triple bud vase presented to Dolley Madison by the Marquise de Lafayette during his 1824-25 tour of the United States. The vase, on loan from Dumbarton House/NSCDA is the third piece of a set of French porcelain vases also on view in the gallery. During Lafayette's "Triumphal tour" he stayed at Montpelier for several days in November of 1824.

Many more of Dolley Madison’s personal items can be found in the Grills Gallery as well. Most recently, a Bible presented to Dolley on the occasion of her 77th birthday by her niece Annie Payne, was placed on view in the gallery. The Bible is inscribed, "For my dear Aunt on her birthday-May 20, 1845" and signed by Annie. Two months after she was given the Bible, Dolley and Annie were confirmed at St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. As Dolley advanced in age, Annie Payne became her companion and caretaker. The bible was donated to Montpelier on Dolley Madison's birthday, May 20, 2008 by a descendent of John Coles Payne, Dolley Madison's brother, 163 years to the day after it was originally presented to Dolley.

The Grills Gallery also features rotating historical documents relating to James Madison's personal and public life.