ROANOKE (WSLS10)-- It's been 240 years since American declared its independence from Great Britain. It's the reason we celebrate Independence Day on July 4 each year. This year, people in the Star City are getting a special opportunity-- celebrating with some real American history thanks to a new exhibit at the Taubman Museum of Art.
The exhibit is called A Portrait of George Washington: The Man, The Soldier and The President-- and it really does cover it all. From his presidential portrait, to a wedding painting of the day our first president married his wife, Martha, and even some original china and kitchenware used during his time in office-- you can really feel hundreds of years of history surrounding you when you step into the room.
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The pieces come from all over the nation, including private collections, items on loan from The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and George Washington's home in Mount Vernon. It's a chance for history lovers to learn some things they may not know.
"Of course he was very tall, he was a wonderful dancer, he loved wine and his favorite was Madeira," says Amy Moorefield, the Deputy Director of Exhibitions and Collections at the Taubman. "He really didn't talk much because it was painful. We didn't get to borrow his dentures, unfortunately. There are a lot of fun tidbits that you many not already know."
Every little detail of the exhibit pays homage to our nation's first president. Even the color of the walls featured in the exhibit are an exact match to some of the walls he painted at his Mount Vernon estate.
For some of the items, this special exhibit is the first time they've been back in the same room since Washington's death 217 years ago.
"He wrote over 20,000 correspondences during the war," says Moorefield. "We have his very special dispatch case, which is like a traveling desk, and his portfolio. It's the very first time those two objects have been joined together. In the portfolio, he carried the very first battle map of Yorktown, which we also have on view. That portfolio also carried the Declaration of Independence."
If you want to check it out-- you still have time, the exhibit will be on display until the end of July.