The Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund, 2014.183.0, Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, In copyright
Arthur J. Lumsden commissioned the oil painting version of this work (2014.182.1), but the object file for this watercolor does not state whether he commissioned it as well. The U.S. Copyright Office states, "If a work is made for hire, the employer or the party that specially ordered or commissioned that work is the initial owner of the copyright in the work unless the employer or the commissioning party has signed a written agreement to the contrary with the work's creator." There is no information about the original commission agreement, so the copyright holder's identity is unknown (it would be either Robert Templeton or the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, presumably). There is a letter in this object file from the Metro Hartford Alliance and the Hartford Chamber of Commerce that purportedly transfers the copyright to the Connecticut Historical Society, but the copyright is only "for the sole purpose of the Society displaying the printing," which is not a legitimate transfer of copyright. Additionally, the letter states, "The Alliance and the Chamber reserve the right to revoke this transfer at their discretion."