The Big Picture! at Washington-on-the-Brazos for 175th

In recognition of the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence, the Star of the Republic Museum at Washington-on-the-Brazos, in partnership with the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, unveiled The Big Picture! – a “Texas-sized” reproduction of the “Reading of the Texas Declaration of Independence,” originally painted by artists Charles and Fanny Normann for the Texas Centennial in 1936.

The Big Picture! was revealed before a crowd of thousands during the annual Texas Independence Day Celebration at the historic site, on Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. The Normann’s dramatic image was divided into 72 segments and then numerous local artists, both professional and amateur, were assigned a segment of the image to paint on a 2 X 3 ft. panel. When complete, the segments were assembled to create an 18 X 24 ft. facsimile of the original painting, three times the original size. The artists embodied the spirit of the delegates, working together to create something special for Texas. Following the event, the individual segments were auctioned off in an online auction.