STATEHOUSE NEWS

---

Columbus, Ohio) – Artist Bill Hinsch unveiled a painted rendering of Ohioans in Space in the Ohio Statehouse today. The image is the artist’s study for a large oil painting he will create to hang permanently in the Rotunda next year. This small version of the painting was revealed to the public in the Rotunda.

The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) commissioned Hinsch to paint a 9-foot by 12-foot oil painting which will be installed in the Rotunda area in 2024. The artwork will recognize the accomplishments of Ohioans in space travel and exploration.

The smaller rendering displayed today measures 30 inches by 40 inches. It shows several Ohio astronauts and their spacecrafts. The Earth, Moon and Mars are included along with an image representing the support staff who make space travel possible.

The painting pictures four of Ohio’s 25 astronauts who achieved real firsts. John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth in NASA’s Mercury Friendship 7 capsule. Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Jim Lovell is the first to fly into space four times, and the first to fly to the moon twice. He was commander of the Apollo 13 mission. Judith Resnik was part of the first NASA astronaut group to include women. She was a crew member on Space Shuttles Discovery and Challenger. An image of Flight Director Gene Kranz of Toledo represents the Ohio engineers and scientists who are integral to achievements in space.

“This painting will be a stellar addition to the public art at the Ohio Statehouse,” said Laura Battocletti, Executive Director of CSRAB, “Bill Hinsch is showing the human faces of our space explorers. We are looking forward to installing the large version of this historic painting next year.”

Bill Hinsch is an artist from Hicksville, Ohio. His aviation art hangs in the Pentagon and the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton. He was the staff artist at the Toledo Blade Newspaper and Art Director of Toledo Magazine. He co-created The Learning Map for schools and corporations. Bill now lives in Perrysburg, Ohio with his wife of 42 years, and their three children live nearby.

“It’s been an absolute honor doing this painting. Although the ‘big one’ hasn’t yet commenced, I’ve already painted it night after night in my head to the point it should paint itself,” said artist Bill Hinsch, “I’ve attempted to capture the poetry of these great Ohio astronauts, their successes, their failures, their striving upward to the heavens.”

Hinsch was selected by an art committee chaired by Charles Moses, of the Capitol Square Foundation, and committee members include Aristotle Hutras, Richard Hillis, Donna Collins, Kelly Falcone-Hall, Jim Dicke, Vincent Keeran, Brad Young, Tom Katzenmeyer, Paul Thomarios, Michael Hall and Stephanie McCloud. The selection process was aided by the Ohio Arts Council.

“Bill captured Ohio’s profound history in space flight,” said Charles Moses, chair of the Capitol Square Foundation, “The painting tells the story of Ohio’s influence from the beginning of human space flight through the Shuttle Program, and looking on to Mars.”

The painting project will be funded by private donations overseen by the Capitol Square Foundation. More details are available on the Foundation website, ohcapitolsquarefoundation.org.

The final painting is projected to be installed in 2024. The last painting added to the Rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse was “Wilbur and Orville Wright and Their Accomplishments,” by Dwight Mutchler, unveiled in 1959. The new painting is intended to match this nine-foot by 12-foot artwork, and will be hung facing the Wright brothers picture on the opposite wall in the East stairway of the Rotunda. The permanent display will remind Ohio Statehouse visitors that brave Ohioans reach for the stars.
###
Photo images of the painted rendering are available at
https://www.ohiostatehouse.org/galleries/astronauts-ohioans-in-space

---

RE: UNVEILING A RENDERING OF “OHIOANS IN SPACE”

WHEN: Wednesday, June 28, 2023
10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Ohio Statehouse Rotunda

WHAT: Artist William Hinsch will reveal a 30 inch by 40 inch painted rendering of his vision for a large oil painting titled, “Ohioans in Space.” The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board commissioned Hinsch to paint a 9 foot by 12 foot oil painting which will be installed permanently in the Rotunda area in 2024. The oil painting will be funded by private donations through the Capitol Square Foundation.

WHO: Charles Moses
Capitol Square Foundation
614-221-5825 csf@assnoffices.com
ohcapitolsquarefoundation.org

Laura Battocletti
Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board
614-752-9777 laura.battocletti@ohiostatehouse.org
ohiostatehouse.org

###

---

On Memorial Day, the flags shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio from sunrise until noon on Monday, May 29, 2023.

---

As part of the Governor’s annual Wreath Laying Ceremony in honor of Memorial Day, military aircraft will conduct a flyover of downtown Columbus and the Ohio Statehouse on Friday, May 26 at approximately 11 a.m. The aircraft are from the 121st Air Refueling Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard.

The public event will include a rifle salute at the Ohio Statehouse on the Third Street Veterans Plaza. The rifle salute is provided by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Since these sounds and the low flying aircraft can be startling, we wish to give advance notice to our Statehouse residents and neighbors on Capitol Square.

This event is part of honoring Ohio’s fallen heroes on Memorial Day weekend. The Governor’s Wreath Laying ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. on the Third Street side of the Ohio Statehouse and may be viewed live on OhioChannel.org.

---

In accordance with the order issued by the President of the United States of America and the proclamation by the Governor of the State of Ohio, and in remembrance of the victims of the shooting in Allen, Texas on May 6, 2023, the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio until sunset on May 11, 2023.

The flags in Ohio were at half-staff on May 7, 2023 to honor the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service.

---

(COLUMBUS, OH) — Members of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) will meet Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus. The business meeting will be held in the State Room (room #108) and will begin at 4 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.

# # #

---

(Columbus, OH) –The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) will commemorate the Repose of President Abraham Lincoln in the Ohio Statehouse on Friday, April 28. The day will include Civil War reenactors, a historic 36-star flag, artifacts and a replica coffin. The event is free and open to the public.

UPDATE: Cannon firings are canceled due to rain. All events will be inside the Ohio Statehouse.

In 1865, the funeral train for Abraham Lincoln traveled more than 1,600 miles in 13 days from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Illinois. The train stopped in Columbus, and Lincoln lay in repose in the Ohio Statehouse on April 29, 1865. An estimated 50,000 people passed through the Rotunda to pay their respects to the fallen President, the “Savior of the Union.”

Artifacts and a large flag from that time will be displayed at the Ohio Statehouse. The Rotunda exhibit includes educational descriptions and a replica coffin. Items from the 1865 funeral train trip will be on loan from the family of General John Curtis Caldwell, including a mourning badge and a lock of Lincoln’s hair.

A giant 36-Star flag that flew over Capitol Square during President Lincoln's 1865 repose will be displayed. The flag originally was presented to David Nevin Murray of Portsmouth, Ohio for his contributions to the war effort on behalf of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Murray’s descendants, the Van Tilburg family, donated the historic flag to the Ohio History Connection.

In conjunction with the Repose of Lincoln, the 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A will hold the 2023 Civil War Encampment inside the Ohio Statehouse. Historical reenactors will demonstrate Civil War life and provide interactive experiences such as meeting soldiers and helping the Ladies’ Aid Society care for the troops. The festivities will also include music and games, inside the Atrium of the Ohio Statehouse.

The Statehouse Museum Shop offers a special one-day Lincoln Sale on April 28, 2023. Lincoln merchandise will be discounted 20% off on the day of the Civil War Encampment and Repose of Lincoln.

The Ohio Statehouse invites the public to remember Civil War history on April 28 with historical reenactors, cannon firings, artifacts and exhibits.

###

---

(Columbus, OH)—The Ohio Statehouse invites families and friends to a FREE fossil tour on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22 from noon until 1:30 p.m. During this special tour, visitors will see fossil specimens, and then find similar fossils in the limestone walls and floors of the Ohio Statehouse.

The tour starts on the ground floor of the Ohio Statehouse. Fossils will be displayed by Dale M. Gnidovec, Curator of the OSU Orton Geological Museum. Mark Peter, Paleontologist at ODNR Division of Geological Survey, will lead the group inside and outside the Ohio Statehouse.

This special tour is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but individuals or organizations that want to schedule a group to attend the tour, should contact Katie Montgomery at 614-728-3726 or kmontgomery@ohiostatehouse.org.

The Ohio Statehouse tour begins and ends in the Governor Thomas Worthington Center, where an exhibit on loan from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History shows replica fossils of Dunkleosteus terrelli and a shark. Dunkleosteus terrelli became the official State Fossil Fish in March of 2021.

Each visitor will receive a free copy of the booklet, Statehouse Fossils: A Guide to Fossils of the Ohio Capitol, by Mark E. Peter. An informative poster of Fossils of the Columbus Limestone is available for purchase online at https://ohiodnr.gov/buy-and-apply/gifts-and-mechandise/ohio-geology-publications.

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 every year to encourage global conservation efforts and environmental protection. These events encourage young learners to explore the natural world and engage the public in efforts to care for our planet.

Photos are available on the Ohio Statehouse website: http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/galleries/geology-fossil-tour

### Older Posts Newer Posts