Jump to content

United States Capitol art

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sculptures in National Statuary Hall, as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, in 2016

The United States Capitol displays public artworks by a variety of artists, including the National Statuary Hall Collection and United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection.

Paintings

[edit]

Sculpture

[edit]

Sculptures include those within the National Statuary Hall Collection and United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection. Other sculptures include a bust of Martin Luther King Jr., the Columbus Doors, and the Revolutionary War Door.

National Statuary Hall Collection

[edit]

The National Statuary Hall Collection is composed of statues donated by individual U.S. states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old Hall of the House of Representatives, which was then renamed National Statuary Hall. The expanding collection has since been spread throughout the Capitol and its Visitor Center.

Other portrait sculpture

[edit]

Other sculptures under the control of the Architect of the Capitol include the following:[1]

Honoree Medium Sculptor Date placed Location
Abraham Lincoln Marble Vinnie Ream 1871 Rotunda
Alexander Hamilton Marble Horatio Stone 1868 Rotunda
Martin Luther King Jr. Bronze John Woodrow Wilson 1986 Rotunda
Edward Dickinson Baker Marble Horatio Stone 1876 Hall of Columns
Sojourner Truth Bronze Artis Lane 2009 Capitol Visitor Center
James Madison Marble Walker Hancock 1976 James Madison Memorial Building
Portrait Monument to Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Marble Adelaide Johnson 1920 Rotunda
Thomas Jefferson Bronze Pierre-Jean David d’Angers 1834 Rotunda
Ulysses S. Grant Marble Franklin Simmons 1899 Rotunda
Rosa Parks Bronze Eugene Daub 2013 National Statuary Hall
Frederick Douglass Bronze Steven Weitzman 2013 Capitol Visitor Center[2]
John Marshall Bronze William Wetmore Story 1884 Capitol Grounds, West Front
Robert A. Taft Bronze Wheeler Williams 1959 Square 633, Capitol Grounds

Allegorical or mythological sculpture

[edit]
Title Medium Sculptor Date placed Location Comment
Car of History Marble Carlo Franzoni 1819 National Statuary Hall represents Clio, the muse of history
Liberty and the Eagle Plaster Enrico Causici 1817–1819 National Statuary Hall
Statue of Freedom Bronze Thomas Crawford 1863 top of dome
The Progress of Civilization[3] Marble Thomas Crawford 1863 Pediment over Senate Portico, East Front
Apotheosis of Democracy[4] Marble Paul Wayland Bartlett 1916 Pediment, East Front Figures of Peace protecting Genius surrounded by scenes representing Industry and Agriculture
Genius of America (1) Sandstone Luigi Persico 1825–1828 Pediment, East Central Entrance America with Justice and Hope, duplicated and replaced by Genius of America (2)
Genius of America (2) Marble Bruno Mankowski 1959–1960 Pediment, East Central Entrance duplicate in marble of Genius of America (1)
Fame and Peace Crowning George Washington (1) Sandstone Antonio Capellano 1827 East central portico, above the Rotunda doors duplicated and replaced by Fame and Peace ... (2)
Fame and Peace Crowning George Washington (2) Marble G. Gianetti 1959–1960 East central portico, above the Rotunda doors duplicate in marble of Fame and Peace ... (1)
Justice and History[5] Marble Thomas Crawford 1863 East Front

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Other Statues". Architect of the Capitol, United States Capitol. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  2. ^ P.L. 112-179, enacted September 20, 2012, authorized the acceptance of the Frederick Douglass statue as a gift of the District of Columbia to be placed "in a suitable permanent location in Emancipation Hall of the United States Capitol." "Public Law 112-179" (PDF). United States Congress. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  3. ^ Architect of the Capitol Under the Direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, Compilation of Works of Art and Other Objects in the United States Capitol, United States Government Printing Office, Washington 1965 p. 380
  4. ^ Architect of the Capitol 1965, p. 379.
  5. ^ Architect of the Capitol 1965, p. 366.
[edit]