IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 842 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that The MacDowell 

Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, should be recognized for its 

contribution to the arts around the world, and the cultural heritage 

of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 15, 2009 

Mr. HODES (for himself and Ms. SHEA-PORTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

The MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, should be recognized for its contribution to the 

arts around the world, and the cultural heritage of the 

United States. 

Whereas for over 100 years, The MacDowell Colony has offered creative individuals an inspiring environment in 

which to produce enduring works of the imagination; 

Whereas The MacDowell Colony was founded in 1907 by Edward MacDowell, a composer and founder of the music 

department at Columbia University, and Marian MacDowell, a pianist and member of the music fraternities 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 842 IH 

Sigma Alpha Iota, Delta Omicron, Phi Beta, and Alpha 

Chi Omega; 

Whereas The MacDowell Colony is located on 450 acres and 

has been a National Historic Landmark since 1963; 

Whereas The MacDowell Colony archives reside at the Library of Congress and the story of how it became the 

first program of its kind in the Nation is told through 

an online exhibition; 

Whereas in 1997, The MacDowell Colony was awarded the 

National Medal of Arts by President William Jefferson 

Clinton; 

Whereas The MacDowell Colony has helped artists thrive in 

a collaborative environment; 

Whereas over 6,000 artists have worked there, including Milton Avery, James Baldwin, Leonard Bernstein, Willa 

Cather, Aaron Copland, Mary Higgins Clark, Jonathan 

Franzen, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Oscar Hijuelos, Galway 

Kinnell, Suzan-Lori Parks, Alice Walker, Wendy 

Wasserstein, Thornton Wilder, and many other talented 

artists; 

Whereas The MacDowell Colony was where playwright 

Thornton Wilder wrote the great American classic ‘‘Our 

Town’’; 

Whereas the Edward MacDowell Medal is a national award 

presented each summer at The MacDowell Colony in 

Peterborough to a creative artist in the United States 

whose body of work has made an outstanding contribution to the national culture; 

Whereas The MacDowell Colony has given back to New 

Hampshire through such public programming as ‘‘MacDowell Downtown’’, which features monthly performances 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 842 IH 

in downtown Peterborough, and ‘‘MacDowell in the 

Schools’’, which offers arts education to local classrooms; 

Whereas The MacDowell Colony holds an annual National 

Benefit to celebrate and honor those who have contributed to the arts; 

Whereas Fellows of The MacDowell Colony have been recognized for their prestigious work with Pulitzer Prizes, 

MacArthur ‘‘Genius’’ awards, EMMYs, Oscars, and 

Sundance awards, GRAMMY Awards, Tonys, and Obie 

awards, and have been named as U.S. Poets Laureates; 

and 

Whereas The MacDowell Colony is an important artistic community that has been essential to the cultural heritage of 

the United States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that The MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, 

3 New Hampshire, should be recognized for its contribution 

4 to the arts around the world, and the cultural heritage 

5 of the United States. 

Æ 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS