The board of directors of Living Legends of Alexandria is providing a gift of Living Legend portraits to the Office of Historic Alexandria which will be part of its permanent collection. Approximately 100 framed prints of Alexandria's Legends from 2007 when the project began through the present are being donated to The Lyceum, Alexandria’s history museum, and additional prints will be added annually.
Gifts to the Office of Historic Alexandria's historic collections and libraries become the property of the City of Alexandria. They are held by the museums in public trust, to be preserved and used as a legacy for future generations of residents, visitors and researchers.
The Lyceum's collection includes the original 1839 Lyceum building as well as over 5,000 objects related to the history of Alexandria. In 1992, The Lyceum is the only museum that collects and interprets artifacts and history from all periods of the city's past, from the periods before its founding in 1749 through the present day.
In a letter to then-chair of the Alexandria Commission of the Arts, Sydney-Chanele Dawkins, Lance Mallamo, director of the Office of Historic Alexandria, wrote: "Living Legends is doing the research and recording the history of today's Alexandria. But as important as that is, Living Legends is also an art project. The individual photographs are of extremely high quality. Different from standard head-and-shoulder portraits, these images are akin to master portrait paintings that tell a story. The settings artfully incorporate something about the subject's passion concerning Alexandria."
With advance notice, the Office of Historic Alexandria will consider loan requests for the print collection in whole or part for exhibition in public and private spaces. For information about Living Legends of Alexandria, visit www AlexandriaLegends.org. For information about The Lyceum and the Office of Historic Alexandria, visit www.alexandriahistory.org.