Signing the Ordinance of Secession of Louisiana is the unfinished oil sketch for a proposed life-size mural. This ambitious multi-figures composition, set inside the senate chambers of the state capitol in Baton Rouge, and commemorates the vote to secede. Perry depicted over one hundred legislators discussing and debating the issue. The painting’s lack of dramatic impact and the public’s preoccupation with the war may account for the failure to produce the full-scale work.