The Art Collection

Early settlers cut and saw trees and use the lumber to construct a building, possibly a warehouse for their supplies.

The Spaniard Hernando Cortez, conqueror of Mexico, enters the Aztec temple in 1519. He is welcomed by Emperor Montezuma II, who thought Cortez was a god. The calendar stone and idols are based on sketches that artist Constantino Brumidi made in Mexico City. (1520)

Two different types of covered wagons are shown, along with livestock and a family of settlers cooking a meal over an open fire.

Designed by renowned artist Allyn Cox (1896-1982), three corridors on the first floor of the U.S. Capitol's House wing are elaborately decorated with wall and ceiling murals that include historical scenes, portraits and maps related to the development and growth of the United States.

During his tenure as Architect of the Capitol, from 1923 to 1954, David Lynn built the second House and Senate office buildings (now named the Longworth and Dirksen buildings, respectively), the second Library of Congress building (now named the Adams building), and the Supreme Court building.

Tecumseh, a brilliant Indian chief, warrior and orator, is shown being fatally shot by Colonel Johnson at the Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada during the War of 1812. Tecumseh and his followers joined forces with the British to resist the encroachment of settlers on Indian territory. With Tecumseh's death, however, the momentum and power of the Indian confederacy was broken. (1813)

This idealized depiction shows the principal authors of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, reading the document to colonists. (1776)

This painting depicts the moment on June 28, 1776, when the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was presented to the Second Continental Congress.

The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill set off the California gold rush of 1849. In this scene prospectors dig for gold with picks and shovels and pan for the precious metal. In the center three well-dressed men, possibly Sutter and two friends, carefully examine the contents of a prospector's pan. This was the last scene designed by Constantino Brumidi and painted by Filippo Costaggini. (1848)

William Henry Powell’s canvas shows Spanish conquistador and explorer Hernando De Soto riding a white horse and dressed in Renaissance finery arriving at the Mississippi River.

Representing the Great Banks and North Atlantic fisheries, this vignette depicts salt bins, a rod shed, and a pier; a three-masted ship is seen offshore.

Edward Clark, the longest-serving architect to date (1865-1902), completed the porticoes of the new wing extensions and oversaw construction of the first Library of Congress building (now named the Jefferson building).