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James A. Garfield
This statue of James Garfield was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Ohio in 1886. Garfield was the 20th President of the United States, serving from 1881 until he died from a gunshot wound 200 days later.
•Artist: Charles H. Niehaus
•Material: Marble
•State: Given by Ohio in 1886
•Location: Rotunda, U.S. Capitol
James Abram Garfield, born November 19, 1831, was the last American president to be born in a log cabin. He grew up in poverty and first tried his hand at being a frontier farmer. He was able to finish his studies, first at Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (Hiram College) and later at Williams College; he was just under 30. In 1859 Garfield was elected to the Ohio Senate as a Republican. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1860.
Garfield became a major general in the Union Army during the Civil War and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1880, where he served on the Military Affairs Committee and the Ways and Means Committee and became an expert in public finance. He was a firm supporter of backing money with gold, but not a strong supporter of a high tariff. Garfield was elected to the Senate in 1880 but never served, as he also was elected president.
His short presidency was quite stormy due to the numerous political problems he inherited. He also generated some of his own by personally making even the most minor political appointment in his administration, and his selection of moderate Republicans angered the conservative faction known as the “Stalwarts.”
On July 2, 1881, President Garfield was shot in a Washington railroad station, located on the Mall, by Charles J. Guiteau, a disappointed office seeker. Garfield died from his gunshot wound 11 weeks later on September 19, 1881. He is also honored with a monument on Capitol Grounds.
Today’s visitors to the Old Senate Chamber will find reproductions of senator’s desks arranged in four semi-circular rows. The original mahogany desks are now located in the present Senate chamber and were made by New York cabinetmaker Thomas Constantine, who in 1819 supplied “48 desks for Members, each $34.” Constantine also provided forty-eight matching chairs; this design is still used today for chairs made for the present Senate chamber.
Below the eagle and the canopy is the desk of the Vice President of the United States. The Constitution provides that “The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate….” (Art. I, Sec. 3). This original desk, faced with a red “modesty” curtain, was used by every vice president from George Clinton to John Breckinridge.
Reproduction of Senate Chamber Desk
•Desk, Senate Chamber (Reproduction)
•by Engelhard and Koenig, Inc.
•Mahogany, mahogany veneer, 1976
•Overall Measurement:
oHeight: 33.25 inches (84.5 cm)
oWidth: 29.5 inches (74.9 cm)
oDepth: 19 inches (48.3 cm)
•Cat. no. 65.00042.018
Reproduction of Senate Chamber Chair
•Chair, Senate Chamber (Reproduction)
•by Engelhard and Koenig, Inc.
•Mahogany, loose leather cushion stuffed with hair, on cane seat, 1976
•Overall Measurement:
oHeight: 37 inches (94 cm)
oWidth: 23 inches (58.4 cm)
oDepth: 22 inches (55.9 cm)
•Cat. no. 65.00043.001
Vice President’s Desk
•Desk, Vice President’s
•by Thomas Constantine (attributed)
•Mahogany, wool, 1819 ca.
•Overall Measurement:
oHeight: 31.13 inches (79.1 cm)
oWidth: 75.38 inches (191.5 cm)
oDepth: 25.50 inches (64.8 cm)
•Cat. no. 65.00044.000
This mahogany desk was likely made by Thomas Constantine, a cabinetmaker from New York. Following the Capitol’s near destruction in 1814 by invading British forces, Constantine was paid for supplying the Senate with, among other items, one “Large Desk for President of Senate” as a cost of $140.
A similar style desk is depicted in engravings of the chamber that date as early as 1848. The desk was used by the Senate until 1859 when they vacated the room for their new chamber. Likely put into storage when the Supreme Court took over the space, the desk was later returned to the Senate in 1973 for the restoration of the historic room.
Large Podium Desk
•Desk, Large Podium
•by Engelhard and Koenig, Inc.
•Mahogany, 1976
•Overall Measurement:
oHeight: 32.12 inches (81.59 cm)
oWidth: 130 inches (330.2 cm)
oDepth: 17 inches (43.18 cm)
•Cat. no. 65.00046.001
The United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
The United States Capitol
East Capitol Street, NE and 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-226-8000
Photo
Washington, D.C. USA North America
03/23/2013
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, Capitol West Lawn 1
Description: Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography, TeaPartyMovement.us
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us
Tea Party Movement
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us
Small Senate Rotunda Chandelier
This chandelier has hung in the Small Senate Rotunda since 1965. Imported from Europe in 1903, it previously hung in a historic Baltimore theater and a Capitol Hill church. Originally smaller, it has been enlarged and modified over its history.
•Subject: Bronze and Crystal Chandelier
•Location: Small Senate Rotunda, U.S. Capitol
The chandelier hanging in the Small Senate Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol has attracted attention ever since it was installed in 1965. It was purchased for $1,500 from the ABC Wrecking Co., which had removed it from the Capitol Hill United Methodist Church on Seward Square in southeast Washington, D.C., before razing that building. Although its manufacturer is not known, the chandelier was imported from Europe in 1903 for the grand Maryland Theater in Baltimore. Over the years this theater was the scene of vaudeville, film and live dramatic presentations.
When the theater was being razed in 1951, a parishioner purchased the chandelier for Trinity Methodist Church (later renamed the Capitol Hill United Methodist Church). The chandelier was smaller then: it consisted of the six-foot bronze ring, which was ornamented in relief and coarse filigree; a smaller ring that formed the main basket; and a large crystal ball attached to the basket, which terminated the chandelier. The pastor added eight glass arms, hurricane lamps, a brass crown, and Czechoslovakian crystal chains leading to the crown, thus making the fixture eight feet wide and eleven feet high. When it was acquired by the Architect of the Capitol, the chandelier was rewired and lamp sockets were replaced. The eight fragile glass arms on the main ring were replaced with sixteen short bronze arms. Each arm terminates in a glass bobeche with a circle of pendent crystal prisms.
The chandelier is estimated to have 14,500 crystals and weighs nearly 2,000 pounds. It is suspended from an electrically driven winch on a steel cable, which allows it to be lowered for cleaning.
Today’s visitors to the Old Senate Chamber will find reproductions of senator’s desks arranged in four semi-circular rows. The original mahogany desks are now located in the present Senate chamber and were made by New York cabinetmaker Thomas Constantine, who in 1819 supplied “48 desks for Members, each $34.” Constantine also provided forty-eight matching chairs; this design is still used today for chairs made for the present Senate chamber.
Reproduction of Senate Chamber Desk
•Desk, Senate Chamber (Reproduction)
•by Engelhard and Koenig, Inc.
•Mahogany, mahogany veneer, 1976
•Overall Measurement:
oHeight: 33.25 inches (84.5 cm)
oWidth: 29.5 inches (74.9 cm)
oDepth: 19 inches (48.3 cm)
•Cat. no. 65.00042.018
Reproduction of Senate Chamber Chair
•Chair, Senate Chamber (Reproduction)
•by Engelhard and Koenig, Inc.
•Mahogany, loose leather cushion stuffed with hair, on cane seat, 1976
•Overall Measurement:
oHeight: 37 inches (94 cm)
oWidth: 23 inches (58.4 cm)
oDepth: 22 inches (55.9 cm)
•Cat. no. 65.00043.001
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us, FoxNews, Jon Voight
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us, FoxNews, Jon Voight
Frieze of American History
The Frieze of American History in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol contains a painted panorama depicting significant events in American history. The frieze’s nineteen scenes are the work of three artists: Constantino Brumidi, Filippo Costaggini and Allyn Cox. The frieze is painted in grisaille, a monochrome of whites and browns that resembles sculpture. It measures eight feet and four inches in height and approximately three hundred feet in circumference. It starts fifty-eight feet above the floor.
•Artist: Constantino Brumidi, Filippo Costaggini and Allyn Cox
•Location: Rotunda, U.S. Capitol
Thomas U. Walter’s 1859 cross-section drawing of the new Dome (constructed 1855-1863) shows a recessed belt atop the Rotunda walls with relief sculpture. Eventually it was painted in true fresco, a difficult and exacting technique in which the pigments are applied directly onto wet plaster. As the plaster cures the colors become part of the wall. Consequently, each section of plaster must be painted the day it is laid.
In 1877 the Architect of the Capitol reported, “The belt of the Rotunda intended to be enriched with basso relievos [low relief] is being embellished in real fresco representing in light and shadow events in our history arranged in chronological order, beginning with the Landing of Columbus…”
The frieze is the work of three artists. It was designed by Constantino Brumidi, an Italian artist who studied in Rome before emigrating to America. He worked at the Capitol over a period of twenty-five years, decorating numerous committee rooms and the areas known as the Brumidi Corridors; he also painted the Rotunda canopy fresco, The Apotheosis of Washington. Brumidi created a sketch for the Rotunda frieze in 1859 but was not authorized to begin work until 1877. After enlarging the sketches for the first scenes, Brumidi began painting the frieze in 1878, at the age of seventy-three. His design traces America’s history from the landing of Columbus to the discovery of gold in California. As was common in the history books of the day, the Spanish explorers and the Revolutionary War are emphasized. While working on the figure of William Penn in the scene “William Penn and the Indians,” Brumidi’s chair slipped on the scaffold platform. He saved himself from falling only by clinging to the rung of a ladder for fifteen minutes until he was rescued. He returned to the scaffold once more but then worked on enlarging his remaining sketches until his death a few months later in February 1880.
Filippo Costaggini, who had also been trained in Rome, was selected to complete the remaining eight scenes using Brumidi’s sketches. When he finished in 1889 there was a gap of over thirty-one feet because of early miscalculations about the height of the frieze. Costaggini hoped to fill it with three of his own scenes, but Congress failed to approve his designs before his death in 1904. In 1918 Charles Ayer Whipple painted a trial scene in the blank section; it was later removed.
In 1951 Allyn Cox was commissioned to paint the last three panels tracing the growth of the nation from the Civil War through the birth of aviation. Cox also cleaned and retouched the frieze. The frieze was completed in 1953 and dedicated the next year. In 1986 Congress appropriated funds for a careful cleaning and restoration of the frieze to remove accumulated grime, overpaint, and streaks caused by leaking water. The conservation treatment, completed early in 1987, restored the original details and vividly brought out the illusion of relief sculpture. Minor repairs were made in 1994.
The sequence of nineteen scenes begins over the west door and moves clockwise around the Rotunda.
1.“America and History”
2.“Landing of Columbus” (1492)
3.“Cortez and Montezuma at Mexican Temple” (1520)
4.“Pizarro Going to Peru” (1533)
5.“Burial of DeSoto” (1542)
6.“Captain Smith and Pocahontas” (1607)
7.“Landing of the Pilgrims” (1620)
8.“William Penn and the Indians” (1682)
9.“Colonization of New England”
10.“Oglethorpe and the Indians” (1732)
11.“Battle of Lexington” (1775)
12.“Declaration of Independence” (1776)
13.“Surrender of Cornwallis” (1781)
14.“Death of Tecumseh” (1813)
15.“American Army Entering the City of Mexico” (1847)
16.“Discovery of Gold in California” (1848)
17.“Peace at the End of the Civil War” (1865)
18.“Naval Gun Crew in the Spanish-American War” (1898)
19.“The Birth of Aviation” (1903)
At a lower level and separated from the bench by a wooden balustrade is the area that was reserved for attorneys presenting cases before the Court.
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, Capitol West Lawn 1
Description: Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography, TeaPartyMovement.us
The United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
The United States Capitol
East Capitol Street, NE and 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-226-8000
Photo
Washington, D.C. USA North America
03/23/2013
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us, FoxNews, Jon Voight
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us, Politician
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography, TeaPartyMovement.us
Today’s visitors to the Old Senate Chamber will find reproductions of senator’s desks arranged in four semi-circular rows. The original mahogany desks are now located in the present Senate chamber and were made by New York cabinetmaker Thomas Constantine, who in 1819 supplied “48 desks for Members, each $34.” Constantine also provided forty-eight matching chairs; this design is still used today for chairs made for the present Senate chamber.
Reproduction of Senate Chamber Chair
•Chair, Senate Chamber (Reproduction)
•by Engelhard and Koenig, Inc.
•Mahogany, loose leather cushion stuffed with hair, on cane seat, 1976
•Overall Measurement:
oHeight: 37 inches (94 cm)
oWidth: 23 inches (58.4 cm)
oDepth: 22 inches (55.9 cm)
•Cat. no. 65.00043.001
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, Capitol West Lawn 1
Description: Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography, TeaPartyMovement.us
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us, FoxNews, Jon Voight
Today’s visitors to the Old Senate Chamber will find reproductions of senator’s desks arranged in four semi-circular rows. The original mahogany desks are now located in the present Senate chamber and were made by New York cabinetmaker Thomas Constantine, who in 1819 supplied “48 desks for Members, each $34.” Constantine also provided forty-eight matching chairs; this design is still used today for chairs made for the present Senate chamber.
Reproduction of Senate Chamber Desk
•Desk, Senate Chamber (Reproduction)
•by Engelhard and Koenig, Inc.
•Mahogany, mahogany veneer, 1976
•Overall Measurement:
oHeight: 33.25 inches (84.5 cm)
oWidth: 29.5 inches (74.9 cm)
oDepth: 19 inches (48.3 cm)
•Cat. no. 65.00042.018
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us, FoxNews, Jon Voight
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography, TeaPartyMovement.us
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us, FoxNews, Jon Voight
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us
Huey Pierce Long
This statue of Huey Pierce Long was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Louisiana in 1941. Long served as governor of Louisiana and as a member of the U.S. Senate.
•Artist: Charles KeckArtist
•Material: Bronze
•State: Given by Louisiana in 1941
•Location: National Statuary Hall, U.S. Capitol
Huey Long, “The Kingfish,” was born in Winnfield, Louisiana, on August 30, 1893, to a poor farm family of strong religious convictions. He attended the local public schools. Although he was eager to attend college, there was no money; at the age of 16 he was on his own as a door-to-door salesman. He studied law for six months at the University of Oklahoma in 1912; he later finished the course at Tulane University and was admitted to the bar in 1915.
He quickly entered politics and was elected state railroad commissioner in 1917. An energetic campaigner, Long became popular for his grassroots oratory. Defeated for the governorship in 1924, he was elected in 1928, campaigning on a platform of free schoolbooks, paved roads and improved hospitals. As governor, he enlarged the state university at Baton Rouge to accommodate more students. His rise to power during the Depression years capitalized on the people’s needs. His bold use of authority and state funds nearly led to his impeachment in 1929, but proceedings collapsed in the state senate. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1930, he did not take his seat until January 1932. His proposed “Share the Wealth” program, which promised every family $5,000 and the confiscation of large estates, made him a presidential prospect for 1936.
At the height of his power, while visiting the state house in Baton Rouge, Long was assassinated by Dr. Carl Weiss. He died on September 10, 1935, and is buried on the grounds of the state capitol.