Whose History? Statehouse Art Collection Draws Scrutiny For Lack Of Diversity

Addison County Sen. Ruth Hardy with a portrait of Madeleine Kunin, Vermont’s only female governor. Hardy has introduced a bill to create a taskforce to diversify the Statehouse’s portraiture, which currently includes three women and no person of color. (Elodie Reed/VPR)

Some Vermont lawmakers have begun to take a closer look at the art that hangs on the walls of the Statehouse. What they’ve noticed, they said, is a troubling theme: Virtually all of the building’s framed portraits are of old white men.

The Vermont Statehouse is where lawmakers conduct the people’s business, but it’s also one of the most visited museums in Vermont.

Addison County Sen. Ruth Hardy said the art there ought to reflect the diversity of the state.

“We call it the ‘People’s House,’ but when you walk in here, it looks like the old white guys’ house,” Hardy said. “So I really want to make sure that we create a Statehouse where people of all ages, all races and genders, feel welcome, and see themselves, literally see themselves or people who look like them, on the walls.”

Hardy said she’s especially worried about the thousands of students who visit the Statehouse every year.

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