Architect of the Capitol employees are responsible for the care and preservation of more than 300 works of art, architectural elements, landscape features and more.
Browse our pieces below or learn more about the artists, collections and subjects.
Civil Rights Bill Passes, 1866
The 1866 civil rights bill, which prohibited discrimination on the bases of race or previous condition of slavery, prefigured the 14th amendment to the Constitution.
Civil War Troops Quartered in the Capitol Plaque
This plaque identifies specific troops quartered in the United States Capitol during the 1800s.
Clearing Land
Two settlers use a team of oxen to remove the stumps of newly felled trees while, in the background, others build a log hut next to an inland river.
Colonization of New England
Early settlers cut and saw trees and use the lumber to construct a building, possibly a warehouse for their supplies.
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.
Compass Stone
This white marble "compass stone" in the floor of the Crypt marks the center of the U.S. Capitol and is the point where Washington, D.C., is divided into quadrants: northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest.
Corinthian Columns
Corinthian columns are the most ornate, slender and sleek of the three Greek orders.
Corncob or Cornstalk Columns and Capitals
Some of the oldest and most famous interior features of the Capitol are located near the entrance to the Old Supreme Court Chamber. These six corncob columns, designed ca. 1808 by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, are among the most unusual and significant architectural works of the early Republic.
