The Art Collection | Architect of the Capitol

AOC employees are responsible for the care and preservation of more than 300 works of art, architectural elements and landscape features.

Browse the collection below or learn more about our artists, collections and subjects.

The Birth of Aviation

The first flight at Kitty Hawk (December 17, 1903) is depicted, with Orville Wright in the Flyer, which has just left the ground, and Wilbur running alongside to steady the wing. In the background stand Leonardo da Vinci, Samuel Pierpont Langley, and Octave Chanute; each holds a model of his earlier design for a flying machine. An eagle with an olive branch in its talons emphasizes this flight as a great American achievement and closes this last scene. (1903)

The Columbus Doors

The Columbus Doors, also called the Rogers Doors or Rotunda Doors, stand imposingly at the main entrance to the U.S. Capitol Building, almost 17 feet high and weighing 20,000 pounds. Designed by American sculptor Randolph Rogers, each scene depicting the life of Christopher Columbus is finely modeled. The doors were installed in 1863 and moved to their present location in 1961 following the extension of the East Front of the Capitol.

"The Constitutional Convention, 1787" by Allyn Cox

The Constitutional Convention, 1787

Following the Revolutionary War, the new American government was first organized under the Articles of Confederation, but that document gave the federal government too little authority to be effect

"The Declaration of Independence, 1776" by Allyn Cox

The Declaration of Independence, 1776

In June 1776 five delegates to the Second Continental Congress drafted the Declaration of Independence.

"The First Continental Congress, 1774" by Allyn Cox

The First Continental Congress, 1774

Delegates from all thirteen colonies met in 1774 in Philadelphia to discuss responses to increased British oppre

"The First Federal Congress, 1789" by Allyn Cox

The First Federal Congress, 1789

Meeting in New York at Federal Hall, the first federal Congress initiated the committee system, levied taxes and imposts, and enacted a judicial system.

Ceiling mural.

The First Four Settlements in America

The map shows the first four settlements in America, from St. Augustine (1565) to Plymouth (1620).

Mural.

The First Thirteen Colonies

The map shows the first thirteen colonies and the year in which each entered the Union. The original Northwest territories, the Connecticut Reserve, and Spanish and West Florida are also shown.

"The Library of Congress in the Capitol, 1800-1897" by Allyn Cox

The Library of Congress in the Capitol, 1800-1897

In 1783 Representative James Madison introduced a resolution to create a library that would give the Congress access to works about the laws of nations and about American history and affairs.

"The Mayflower Compact, 1620" by Allyn Cox

The Mayflower Compact, 1620

The Mayflower Compact, a document signed aboard the ship Mayflower in 1620, set forth principles of tolerance and liberty for the government of a new colony in the New World.

"The Monroe Doctrine, 1823" by Allyn Cox

The Monroe Doctrine, 1823

Responding to Russian territorial claims along the northern Pacific coast, and concerned that European nations would attempt to seize recently independent Latin American states, President James Mon

The President's Trees Plaque