In geography, politics and culture, early Maryland was the quintessential border state.  Situated between Virginia and Pennsylvania, the decorative arts of Maryland bespeak its role as a cultural crossroad between North and South.

During the colonial period, eastern Maryland, like coastal Virginia, enjoyed a steady stream of émigré craftsmen who produced elegant, British-inspired wares for wealthy planters and merchants.  The capital of Annapolis was a sophisticated urban center with numerous highly skilled furniture makers and portrait painters.

Simultaneously, large numbers of Scotch-Irish and German settlers poured into the Maryland backcountry after first landing in Philadelphia.  Located just 50 miles across the border, the colonial metropolis of Philadelphia strongly influenced the decorative arts of early Maryland.

By 1800, however, Baltimore emerged as one of America’s largest port cities and replaced Annapolis and Philadelphia as the dominant style center.  In Baltimore’s rich mercantile climate, black and white, native- and foreign-born artisans used decorative paint and pictorial inlay to produce an exuberant style that set Baltimore apart from the rest of the nation.

This exhibition was on view in the G. Wilson Douglas, Jr. Gallery of the Frank L. Horton Museum Center from August 2007 to April 1, 2008.