ORANGE CCOUNTY REVIEW

An Orange County High School student’s painting will be on display for a year at the U.S. Capitol.

“Summer Canopy” by Skylar Ruggeri won first place in the Congressional Art Competition for the 7th District, and her work will be displayed among those of her fellow first-place winners from across the country. The winning pieces will be on view in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol, which is the most highly traveled access point between the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Capitol.

Gubernatorial candidate and 7th District Rep. Abigail Spanberger hosted an art show and awards ceremony for the sixth annual competition on May 2 in the DuPont Gallery at the University of Mary Washington to give the students, their families, art teachers, principals and art judges an opportunity to view the works. All 33 participating art students’ works from the 7th District were on display.

Spanberger also recognized Qaeviaun Smith Baldon from Gar-Field High School, who won second place in the competition, and Kaia Jansen from North Stafford High School, who took third place

Skylar was inspired to paint “Summer Canopy” by taking a late-summer walk through Washington, D.C., just outside the National Gallery of Art. She decided to capture the effect of sunlight pouring onto the ground through the tree canopy.

The Congressional Art Competition, now in its 43rd year, is sponsored by the Congressional Institute to recognize the artistic talents of high school students across the nation.