James Madison's Montpelier We The People Spring 2018 WTP_Spring_2018_FINAL_web | Page 4

WE THE PEOPLE
HIGHLIGHTS
MONTPELIER READIES FOR 2018
The House underwent some visually striking
changes during the January closure, including the
installation of Venetian carpeting and floor cloths
in the downstairs passageways and north stairs.
The changes were made following research into
documentary and physical evidence, including the
paint analysis of a floor cloth fragment found under a
doorway between the Passage and Dining Room.
Along with the vibrant carpeting, the South Passage
saw the addition of several Old Master paintings
matching a Madison-era inventory and various first-
hand accounts. The installation turns the passageway
into a gallery hall, a popular practice John Payne
Todd likely brought back from Europe. Highlights
include a depiction of a couple drinking in a tavern
by the workshop of Pieter Brueghel the Younger, and
a poultry yard by Melchior d’Hondecoeter.
In addition to the work downstairs, two entirely new rooms were furnished: John Payne Todd’s chamber
and a guest chamber. Payne’s chamber features wallpaper, bedhangings, and grass carpeting based on
physical evidence. A fragment of the wallpaper was found behind the mantel, a large section of grass
matting was found within the wall, and fragments of red/buff shot silk were found in a rat’s nest in the walls
of the room. Additionally, the room features numerous pieces with Madison and Montpelier provenances.
The guest chamber shows four lowpost bedsteads having their linens partially removed. Since the Madisons
were sometimes host to more than 25 people at a time, housing multiple people in the same room was a
necessity. Showing the beds being changed over shifts the focus of the room to the enslaved people doing
the labor, giving them an active presence within the House.
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