Constantino Brumidi, Michelangelo of the United States Capitol

by Myrtle Cheney Murdock

CAPITOL ROTUNDA

On the frieze of the Rotunda Brumidi did his last work in the Capitol Building. This frieze is a belt nine feet wide which circles the Rotunda 58 feet from the floor. The Rotunda is 300 feet in circumference. On October 1, 1877, the Architect of the Capitol gave the following report, “The belt of the Rotunda intended to be enriched with basso relievos is being embellished in real fresco representing in light and shadow events in our history arranged in chronological order, begining with the Landing of Columbus and ending with a period of our Revolutionary history to be decided later.”

According to Brumidi’s signed statement of 1874, earlier quoted, “That large frieze in the Rotunda was sketched by order of Captain Meigs before the war,” but the artist was 72 years old before he actually was allowed to begin painting the frieze in the difficult Rotunda location.

He had in mind fifteen historical scenes planned to cover fifteen divisions of the frieze and from his file of letters we know how desperately he worked to finish these frescoes before sickness should compel him to lay aside his brush. The following four short letters to the Architect of the Capitol during Brumidi’s last months show the heroic effort made by the artist to complete his frieze:

Washington, D. C., October 15, 1878

“I have returned at home, having improved enough and I am translating in large proportion the cartoon of Pocahontas, and if Monday the plasterer is ready to proceed with the panel of DeSoto I desire to go on in that work, if my health will permit me, as I hope.”

C. Brumidi

Washington, D. C., December 27, 1878

“In this very cold weather I am compelled to suspend the work in the Rotunda where

WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE

Another lunette painted by Brumidi high on the walls of the old Senate Committee Room on Military Affairs was named by Brumidi, “Washington at Valley Forge.” This portrayal of our Revolutionary General was evidently painted with these words of Washington in mind: “We have this day no less than 2,873 men in camp unfit for duty because they are barefooted and otherwise naked ... numbers are still obliged to sit all night by fires.” (December 23, 1777.) Could the two soldiers with Washington be Brumidi’s conception of Baron Steuben and Lafayette?

the heating is not enough to prevent the frost at the surface of the mortar, that does not remain soft long enough upon the wall for absorbing the colors till the piece of the day would be completed, causing injury to the work; for this reason I ask the permission to suspend the fresco work for some weeks until the weather will be not so cold.

“I am proceeding with the cartoon of The Landing of the Pilgrims, where I have no need of the laborer’s assistance.”

C. Brumidi

Orkney Springs, August 11, 1879

“In the month of July you agreed to my request to draw the cartoons in my studio.

“A short time before I was attacked by the asthma and finding no relief, was advised to leave the City by Dr. Thompson, and decided to come here. I suffered only during the night which was very fortunate as it permitted me to work in the day. I have completed three cartoons representing the treaty of William Penn and Settlement of New England which comprises two cartoons. I have brought one with me on which I work every day. I find the air a great benefit to me, the water also and expect to be able to continue the Fresco very soon.”

C. Brumidi

Washington, D. C., August 18, 1879

“Saturday 16th I returned in the city, and ready to proceed with the work in fresco (with your permission). Three cartoons are near completed. I am improved in the general health, that was the object of my trip and not for the pleasure.”

C. Brumidi

LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS

Of the fifteen historical groups planned by Brumidi for the frescoed frieze encircling the Rotunda, the “Landing of the Pilgrims” is the one in which the attitude of prayer predominates. This frieze is 9 feet wide and 58 feet from the Rotunda floor. Brumidi was 72 years old when he began its execution but he had drawn the plans probably twenty years earlier.

But this last task he set for himself was too great. Of the fifteen scenes Brumidi planned, he finished the following six: Landing of Columbus, 1492; Entry of Cortez into Mexico, 1521; Pizarro’s Conquest of Peru, 1533; Midnight Burial of DeSoto, 1541; Pocahontas saving John Smith, 1606; Landing of the Pilgrims, 1620.

PENN’S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS

The seventh group, chronologically, on the Rotunda frieze is “Penn’s Treaty with the Indians.” It follows the “Landing of the Pilgrims” in Brumidi’s design. It was while working on this group that Brumidi fell on the scaffolding and was never able to return. The three Indians at the right were left unfinished, the lighter background marking the spot from which Brumidi fell.

The artist had the seventh scene, Penn’s Treaty with the Indians, 1682, more than half finished when he fell from the suspended chair from which he worked and was forced to hang by his arms from a ladder until workmen made the rescue. The last few months of his life he worked at his studio on the frieze cartoons. Edward Clark, Architect of the Capitol, makes reference to the unfinished frieze in his Report of October 1, 1880. Said he at that time, “But little progress has been made on the frescoes of the belt in the Dome, owing to the illness and death of the late Constantino Brumidi. Philip Costaggini, an artist of acknowledged merit, educated in the same school as the former artist, is now engaged on these frescoes.” One year later, however, on October 1, 1881, Mr. Clark made the following report:

“Mr. Costaggini has painted in fresco on the belt of the Rotunda the “Settlement of New England,” “Oglethorpe and the Indians,” left unfinished by Mr. Brumidi, and he is now engaged on the “Reading of the Declaration of Independence.” It is proper to state here, that Mr. Brumidi made the designs for these sections only in small size and Mr. Costaggini has had to make the eight remaining full size cartoons.”

When Mr. Costaggini finished the work of executing the Brumidi designs on the Rotunda frieze he had space enough left to accommodate two compositions of his own choosing. Since his designs were never sanctioned by Congress, Mr. Costaggini died in 1907 leaving an unfinished frieze.

A third artist, Charles Ayer Whipple, was employed in 1918 at daily wages to restore some of Brumidi’s paintings on the walls of the Ground Floor Corridors at the Capitol and to make a sample painting on the unfinished frieze. This trial painting he called “The Spirit of 1917.” The Committee charged with final decisions concerning the frieze at that time decided against Whipple’s further effort.

In 1925 Mr. Whipple referred to his frieze painting in a letter to the Architect of the Capitol, a portion of which follows:

“As you know I painted a group of figures in the frieze with the permission of the Library Committee, to prove that I understood the ancient method of Fresco painting, that is, the method of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The frieze is painted in that method and of course must be completed in the mode of the great Italian Master, that of “lime painting on wet plaster.” Mr. Whipple died in 1928. The frieze is still unfinished and still of current interest.

On August 17, 1950, the President of the United States signed a Joint Resolution, H. J. Res. 21, “To provide for the utilization of the unfinished portion of the historical frieze in the Rotunda of the Capitol to portray (1) the Civil War, (2) the Spanish-American War, and (3) the birth of aviation in the United States.”

Each new effort to finish the Rotunda Frieze is a testimony to the artist, Brumidi, and to his inimitable work. Should an artist well schooled in the Italian fresco process not be found to finish the frieze it is the author’s thought that the problem might be solved by adorning the blank portion of the Rotunda belt with a memorial inscription to Constantino Brumidi.

Color Reproductions
OF
Brumidi Frescoes
in the United States Capitol

BRUMIDI’S FRESCOED CANOPY IN THE EYE OF THE DOME

The Dome Canopy as here pictured was photographed from the exact center of the Rotunda, 180 feet below. Unavoidably, the balcony around the Eye of the Dome hides the outer portion of all six allegorical groups. In order to make individual “close-ups” of these groups our photographer went to the top balcony of the Dome at night, carrying his own lighting equipment. His six kodachromes, each made at a distance of 65 feet, the diameter of the Dome at this point, follow:

(S. D. Wyeth’s six-page booklet, printed in 1866, gives the “Description of Brumidi’s Allegorical Painting within the Canopy of the Rotunda.” Since Brumidi finished this canopy in 1865 we may reasonably suppose that Wyeth’s interpretations came directly from the artist. For this reason Wyeth’s own legends are quoted on the following six pages.)

AGRICULTURE

“CERES, the Goddess of Harvests and the Fields, with the Horn of Plenty, is in the center. Young America, with Liberty Cap, of red, the bonnet rouge of France, having under his control a pair of vigorous horses hitched to an American Reaper, in conscious pride is exhibiting his skill. The background is a luxuriant mass of prolific vegetation. Flora is gathering flowers, and, hovering near, is a cherub. Beyond is Pomona with a basket of fruit.”

Wyeth—1866

MECHANICS

“VULCAN, the old stalwart Tubal Cain of Grecian mythology, is the colossal genius of this group. His right foot rests on a cannon. Machinery, forges, mortars, and cannon balls, strewn around, remind us of forging thunderbolts, as well as of combat with, and victory over, the giant forces of nature, and making them subservient to human will and purposes.”

Wyeth—1866

COMMERCE

“MERCURY, the Protector of Travellers and Merchants, holds in his hand a bag of gold, to which he is directing the attention of Robert Morris, the Financier of the American Revolution. It was he who guided to a successful issue the entangled pecuniary embarrassments of our country in its struggle for independence. Alas! for himself, he died a bankrupt, and in confinement for debt. Boxes of merchandise, and bales of goods, with men at work among them, are to be seen. Two sailors point to a gunboat in the distance.”—Wyeth—1866

MARINE

“NEPTUNE, in marine state, bearing his trident, in his car, accompanied by his charioteer and attendants, is emerging astonished from the deep. The beautiful Aphrodite (Venus), born of the sea foam, half risen from the waves, holds in her hand the Atlantic cable, given her by a winged cherub, and is about dropping it into the sea.”—Wyeth—1866

ARTS AND SCIENCES

“MINERVA, the Goddess of Wisdom, stands gloriously prominent, with helmet and spear, as she springs, full grown, from the brain of Jupiter. In meek attitudes, but with glowing faces, attentive to her teachings, are Benjamin Franklin, Printer and Philosopher, Robert Fulton, of Steamboat renown, and S. F. B. Morse, the generally acknowledged inventor of the Magnetic Telegraph. There are also boys, with wondering eyes, and expressive gestures, listening to the instructions of a school teacher.”—Wyeth—1866

WAR

“FREEDOM, terrible in vengeance, with upraised sword, is striking down Tyranny and Kingly Power. They are overcome, and flee from her wrath in dismay; with them is Anger, and also Vengeance and Discord bearing the incendiary torch. An angry Eagle, striking with his beak, is fighting for, and by the side of, Freedom.”

“WASHINGTON, the Savior of his Country, apotheosized, appears seated in majesty. On his right is the Goddess of Liberty, and on his left is a winged idealization of Victory and Fame, sounding a trumpet, and in triumph displaying the victor’s palm. Forming a semicircle are thirteen female figures, representing the thirteen States.”—Wyeth—1866

THOMAS JEFFERSON

Of the five portraits in color of Washington’s first cabinet, painted by Brumidi on the walls of the President’s room, that of Thomas Jefferson is considered by many to be the most lifelike. Brumidi gave Jefferson the favored location beneath the portrait of George Washington, thus bestowing honor on the Secretary of State, the highest ranking Cabinet officer. The delicate graceful carvings of the picture frame are another Brumidi delusion. Both the portrait and the frame are painted in oil on dry plaster. Mr. Fairman suggests that there is enough resemblance between the Brumidi Jefferson and the Trumbull Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence in the Rotunda “upon which to base a theory that Brumidi was at least influenced by the work of Trumbull.”

WASHINGTON-JEFFERSON-HAMILTON

Brumidi was paid $500 for this mural of Washington-Jefferson-Hamilton on the south wall of the Senate Reception Room as indicated by an 1873 voucher. Portions of two empty medallions showing in this reproduction beyond the “decorative figures in light and shade (chiaroscuro)” remind us of Brumidi’s sorrowful words in 1874: “Now many panels remain empty, disfiguring the elaborate ornaments and gilded mouldings around them, which sooner or later must be completed.”

WASHINGTON AT YORKTOWN

This Cornwallis-Washington mural on the wall of the House of Representatives Chamber was criticized in 1857 as “unsuited to halls of deliberation where calm thought and unimpassioned reason are supposed to reside.” For architectural reasons, however, the painting will presently be removed from the House Chamber to a spot more accessible to ardent friends of Brumidi. On the strap of the brief case, lower right, is the famous Brumidi signature, “C. Brumidi, artist. Citizen of the U. S.” (Brumidi’s Dome Canopy signature can be found on page 52.)

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Brumidi’s choice of Benjamin Franklin as an American statesman to represent “History” in the decorative scheme of the frescoed ceiling of the President’s Room is appropriate. It may be that one of the half dozen sheets of parchment shown in the picture is meant to represent the Declaration of Independence, and the five others to represent the Constitution of the United States. Franklin helped to write both of these immortal documents. It has been said that Franklin is here at once easily recognized since this picture contains “all the characteristics of his many portraits and statues which are generally known.”

STORMING OF STONY POINT

Of the five frescoed lunettes in the larger Appropriations Committee Room of the Senate painted by Brumidi, the “Storming of Stony Point” is probably the most colorful. A voucher signed by Brumidi and dated October 19, 1871, reads, “For painting in fresco three panels in Committee Room on Military Affairs, Senate Wing, U. S. Capitol, viz: Washington at Valley Forge, Storming of Stony Point, Boston Massacre, @ $1000 each.” Said Senator Voorhees in 1880, “Who ever passed through the room of the Committee on Military Affairs without feeling that the very genius of heroism had left there its immortal inspirations.”

TELEGRAPH

The laying of the Atlantic cable, with its great significance, has been painted by Brumidi into two Capitol frescoes. “Telegraph” is Brumidi’s own title for this lunette painted as a part of the ceiling fresco in the District of Columbia Committee Room of the Senate. The beauty, freedom, and plenty of America extending a welcome across the seas, as here portrayed, was always in the heart of the artist. The working sketch for this lunette was among the Brumidi paintings stored in a Washington bank vault for forty years.

LEGISLATION

One of four Madonnas from the frescoed ceiling of the President’s Room, Senate Annex.

The Artist’s Compensation

PRESERVED today in the Capitol’s Brumidi file is a statement signed by Brumidi in 1874, but written in the third person “Relative to his Employment at the Capitol.” A portion of that statement follows:

“At one time Brumidi was employed in decorating the Capitol at the same compensation allowed Congressmen, and when that compensation was increased that benefit was also extended to him. At the breaking out of the Civil War Captain Meigs was promoted, and all the work at the Capitol was suspended but Senator Foot, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, as an exception retained Brumidi at work, and placed his name on the roll of the Senate official employees.

“After the war some paintings were completed under the orders of the Secretary of the Interior, and the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, executed by contract under the control of the Architect of the Capitol, but many long interruptions occurred, and much valuable time was lost for want of available appropriations.

“Now many panels remain empty, disfiguring the elaborate ornaments and gilded mouldings around them, which sooner or later must be completed; also that large frieze in the Rotunda sketched by order of Captain Meigs before the war, and intended to represent the history of the country.

“The artist Brumidi humbly proposes to proceed with the work on the economical system of daily wages as the only manner to avoid the inconvenience of interruptions for want of available appropriations.”

Known evidence seems to indicate that Brumidi died poor. This has led many to believe that the Government of the United States did not pay him sufficiently for his services. Even George C. Hazelton stated in 1903, “The late artist’s designs (for the frieze) were promptly appropriated without remuneration to his family for the thought and labor which they contained.” Were it not for the fact, already quoted, from the Report of the Architect of the Capitol for October 1, 1881, that the designs for these sections of the frieze were left by Brumidi only in small size and that Mr. Costaggini had to make the full sized cartoons, we might not recognize Hazelton’s error of statement.

It is well to remember that Mr. Brumidi was working on a per diem basis ($10.00 a day) during the last few years of his life when his labors were interrupted by sickness. It is well to remember also that the artist worked for $8.00 per day during the years 1855 and 1856. During 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, and part of 1861, he worked also on a per diem basis, but at a salary of $10.00 per day. Monthly vouchers for these years, averaging about two hundred sixty dollars per month and signed “C. Brumidi,” are preserved today by the Architect’s office. In fact, most of the money paid the artist by the Government of the United States during his twenty-five years of service is recorded in voucher form and each voucher signed “C. Brumidi.”

From 1861 to 1872 were Brumidi’s best years financially, these being the years he received contract prices for his paintings.

On March 11, 1863, Mr. Brumidi signed a contract with the Government to paint the Canopy of the Dome for $40,000.00. (This contract is preserved in the Capitol Brumidi file.) A portion of a letter written by the Secretary of the Interior, dated November 6, 1863, refers to this contract:

“In March last an agreement was entered into with Mr. C. Brumidi for painting the canopy over the eye of the new dome of the Capitol in real fresco at an entire cost, including the cartoons and every other expense of not over $40,000, payment to be made in monthly bills as the work progresses, not to exceed $2,000 each.”

According to the old vouchers in the Architect’s office, the artist was actually paid $39,500 (chiefly in $2,000 installments) between 1863 and 1866, five hundred dollars having been withheld until the canopy should be declared finished. Brumidi died before this five hundred dollars was paid.

The years 1872, 1873, and 1874 were still contract years, but they were lean years, as only six vouchers totaling $2,350 can be found that were issued to the artist during those three years, and we find no Brumidi vouchers in the architect’s file for the years 1875 and 1876.

With the beginning of 1877, however, Brumidi was evidently re-employed at the Capitol at the rate of $10 per day as shown by two old “Time Books” which indicate month by month the hours worked and the total amount earned by the old artist from January 1877 up to the time of his death on February 19, 1880. These Time Books consistently carried Mr. Brumidi as fresco artist among its employed personnel of laborers, masons, plasterers, finishers, and painters. A Brumidi letter written to Architect Clark July 16, 1879, is the artist’s own verification that the Government of the United States paid him consistently for art work during his last years

HORATIO GATES

Profiled midst laurel, fruit, flowers, and birds, Horatio Gates is one of twenty American profiles painted by Brumidi, each set in its own panel, on the basement walls of the Senate Annex. The many bird decorations used to adorn these walls are so accurate that bird enthusiasts have been known to identify as many as sixty species. Senator Voorhees of Indiana knew of Brumidi’s love for birds and made reference to it in this manner: “He (Brumidi) loved these birds as a father loves his children and he often lingered in their midst as if a strong tie bound him to them.”

when much of that work had to be done in his studio because of failing health. The 1879 letter follows:

“I received yesterday the visit of Mr. McTynchon, and I was glad to show him the progress of my work in the cartoon for the Dome, that your kindness permits me to proceed it at my studio at home.

“I have completed the cartoon of the Treaty of William Penn, also the retouching of the cartoon of Pizzarro, making the light permanent with glue as I did at the large cartoon of Columbus.

“I have commenced the cartoon of the settlement of New England.

“I hope you and your family will enjoy your summer residence, and I will continue to progress with my work hoping to give you the desired satisfaction.

“With my best regards to Mrs. Clark, and family, I remain”

C. Brumidi

It seems reasonably certain that the Architect of the Capitol and other friends of Brumidi in the Congress of the United States at the time of Brumidi’s death wanted the old artist to have every dollar due him for the Capitol decorations, even to the extent of using the $200—apparently earlier appropriated for Dome scaffolding construction—to defray funeral expenses. Then, too, there is one voucher in the Brumidi voucher collection, dated February 19, 1880, the day the artist died, “for 13 days’ services as artist at $10.00—$130.00.” This voucher is not endorsed.

It is evidently true, also, that Brumidi died poor. In the following letter to Architect Clark, dated only five months before his death, and only two days before he fell from the frieze scaffolding we have the picture of a lonely artist facing lean years with fear—and a bit of remorse:

Washington, D. C., September 29, 1879

“I received the visit of Dr. Taylor and I hope to obtain much benefit by his prescription; but my sickness proceeds more by the mental than physical weakness, because my mind is much worried by the terrible future prospect of starvation as soon as my bad health prevents me to do the daily work, having saved nothing in the past when the fortune provided me with very profitable works.

Probably you know that when the superintendent Meigs was promoted as Quartermaster General the Senator Foot, President pro tempore of the Senate, put my name in the roll of the employee and was continuing to work, and the decorations of the basement corridor of the Senate was made in that time at the roll pay.

Now, sickly and old, with 26 years’ service as an artist in the Capitol, I ask the comfort to be replaced in the roll as a reward for my work and gain again the tranquility of the mind.”

C. Brumidi

Four days after the artist’s death a bill was introduced into the Senate of the United States which read as follows:

“Be it enacted.... That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, directed to pay to the heirs of Constantino Brumidi, deceased, the sum of $500, that being the amount reserved from the last voucher paid him for painting in fresco the picture on the canopy of the Dome of the Capitol; and also to pay to said heirs the sum of $200 to defray the funeral expenses of said deceased; said payments to be made out of moneys appropriated by an act approved March 3, 1879.”

Upon introducing this bill, Senator Voorhees of Indiana made the following explanation:

“Mr. President, the reason for the introduction of this bill grows out of the following facts: The Government made a contract with Mr. Brumidi for the painting, in fresco, on the canopy of the Dome of the Capitol. The scaffolding necessary to enable the artist to do his work was furnished by the Government. When the painting was finished and the scaffolding removed the Secretary of the Interior withheld the sum of $500 of the contract price as a guarantee for any retouching which the work might need after it dried out and became thoroughly seasoned to the air. This amount was held back, to be paid to Mr. Brumidi for such future attention on his part as the painting might be found to require.

“He was at all times in readiness to comply with the wishes of the Government on this subject. No scaffolding, however, was ever replaced on which to work in the Canopy of the Dome, nor was he ever called on by the officials having this matter in charge to give his painting there any further attention.... Both branches of Congress made the following provision in the sundry civil act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880:

“‘To pay C. Brumidi for retouching and blending the picture in fresco on the Canopy of the Dome of the Capitol and for constructing a scaffolding under said picture, $700.’

“The money thus appropriated has been available nearly a year, yet no steps were taken by the proper authorities to enable Mr. Brumidi to ascend again into the Canopy of the Dome of this Capitol, and none now ever will be. In the exact and legal fulfillment of a contract it is our duty to pay this sum of $500 to his heirs. On this point I conceive there can be no difference of opinion. I have ventured, however, in the bill just introduced to ask Congress to apply the remaining $200 of the appropriation of March 3, 1879, to the payment of the funeral expenses of the great artist who has just passed away.”

Senator Morrill of Vermont followed Senator Voorhees on the Floor of the Senate on that 24th day of February back in 1880 to add his sanction to the bill introduced. Said Senator Morrill:

“Mr. President, I desire to express my hearty approval of the measure proposed by the Senator from Indiana. It is only justice—and that coldly measured—that we should now pay all we ever promised to one who can make no further demands upon us, but whose works will live to remind us of his twenty-five years of most valuable service in a branch of art where he stood on this continent confessedly foremost, whether among foreign or native artists. He leaves a daughter in Italy dependent upon a regular remittance from her father, and he leaves an adopted son beginning to be taught in the line of his father’s vocation, but not so far advanced as to give support. I hope it will be the pleasure of the Senate unanimously to pass the bill whenever it comes up for action.”

Senator Morrill who made the above speech in the Senate of the United States is the same Senator Morrill to whom Brumidi referred in the following letter written to Mr. Clark, Architect of the Capitol, and dated November 30, 1874:

“The Thanksgiving day I received the kind visit of Senator Morrill at the Providence Hospital. On that occasion I gave him a paper containing the information of the time I was working in the Capitol by daily wages and also retained at work by Senator Foot, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds in the time of the war.

“The annexed paper is the copy of that I presented to Senator Morrill. I would have submitted it for your examination but in the many times I have been in your office I had not the chance to find you, nor in your house some afternoon.

“Mr. Morrill told me, that I would have work at the Capitol after the recess of the Congress, but about my proposition, he cannot tell me anything at present, but will take this matter in consideration and he asked me what will be my demand about the wages. I replied that before the war I had ten dollars in gold, that was a sufficient wage at the time but now all the wages are generally increased, I hope to obtain the same consideration.”

C. Brumidi

According to endorsed vouchers and Time Book entries preserved by the Government of the United States in the Architect’s office of the Capitol, actual payment in money was made to Mr. Brumidi of something over $80,700 during a period of twenty-five years. While an average of $3,200 a year from 1855 to 1880 was not over-payment for Mr. Brumidi’s services, yet, by the same reasoning it cannot in truth be termed under-payment for those same years.

Brumidi’s American Wife and Children

EVERY proof that my government was not responsible for Mr. Brumidi’s last hard years helped to focus my interest on the artist’s family, the family that should have eased the burdens of their benefactor.

I remembered that in a letter written to the Capitol Architect by Brumidi, the same year, 1874, that the artist prepared the statement, “Relative to his Employment at the Capitol,” is a reference to his temporary residence at Marine Hall. This letter contains also the artist’s first reference to a physical disability:

“You would be surprised for having not seen me more at the Capitol.

“The large drawing or cartoon is done at Marines Hall where I have a temporary residence in the same building.

“It was my intention to commence the work as soon as the plasterer is ready, but Sunday last, a painful rheumatic attack at my knee on the left side obliged me to remain in bed for some time.

“Yesterday the same rheumatic pain is come also at the other knee, that does not permit me to walk any step around my room without assistance.

“This deplorable incident, very strange at this season, compels me to postpone the work, hoping in some weeks to be able to do it.”

C. Brumidi

It is entirely possible that domestic difficulties had a bearing on the lean years and on the artist’s health. However, it is also possible that these were the years he used for work outside the city of Washington; it was in April 1871 that Brumidi wrote to the Architect of the Capitol mentioning the decorations in St. Stephen’s Church in New York.

I remembered, also, that the Congressional Bill, finally signed by the President on June 9, 1880, directing the payment of $500 to the children of Brumidi, actually named these children as

“Elena Brumidi of Rome, Italy

“Laurence S. Brumidi of Washington,

District of Columbia.”

Immediately I attached added significance to two letters about Brumidi that I had recently found in the Capitol Brumidi file. One of these, a letter written in Rome, on June 14, 1879, by Brumidi’s daughter, Elena, evidently to the Architect of the Capitol, reads as follows:

“I hope, if I mistake not, that you have a memory of my name. When I came to Washington in 1871 to embrace my poor father, I had the pleasure to be introduced by him to you. I beg your pardon if I take now the liberty to disturb you, but I am sure you will do me the good office I ask because I know your kindness.

“It is today a month since I have not received any news from my father, and it is the first time since 27 years he resided in the United States. Unhappily I know that he is very sick since some time and confined in the bed, as you surely know. But, though in that state he has always written regularly to me. I am dreadfully afraid for this long silence; I fear some great misfortune. I beg you to inform me about his health, whatever it may be. At the same time I am desirous of learning something about the real situation of his private interest, and you understand the reason of this inquiry.

“I am obliged to apply to you, sir, because you are a friend of my poor father, and I rely upon your kindness for him and also for his daughter, beyond your situation in the Capitol. I pray you to keep the secret about this my letter.

“I beg to forgive my troubling you so much. I wait your answer truly with a great trepidation and I send to you in advance my sincere thanks.”

Elena Brumidi

This letter from Elena, written about six months before her father’s death expressing fear at her father’s silence and concern about his “private interest” is practically all we know about Elena, the daughter Brumidi left behind in Italy. We do know, however, that she received her half of the $500 paid by Congress to the Brumidi heirs, as this payment is recorded in an old Department of Interior account book now in the National Archives. This Archives’ record contains an itemized statement of the actual expenditure of the $700 asked for in the Senate Bill introduced four days after Brumidi’s death. Even the $200 set aside for funeral expenses for the artist is accounted for by the Department of Interior, item by item.

The old artist fell from the frieze scaffolding on October 1, 1879. Six weeks later a petition, written in a strange hand but signed by Brumidi, was sent to the Congress of the United States. It gives Brumidi’s account of his accident and formally asks that he be put on the regular payroll of the Capitol employees. The petition is preserved in the Capitol’s Brumidi file and is given here in complete form:

Washington, D. C., November 17, 1879
To the Senate and House of Representatives:

Your petitioner, C. Brumidi, seventy-five years of age, the artist of the Capitol, originally from Rome, Italy, but now for twenty-seven years past a duly naturalized citizen of the United States,

Respectfully represents—That upon the 1st day of October ult, he was engaged at work upon the Historical Painting in fresco in the Frieze of the Rotunda of the Capitol, and while sitting upon a temporary scaffold and near the edge, the chair turned from under him and threw him over. He caught the round of a ladder and remained suspended by the strength of his arms for the space of fifteen minutes, till officer Lammond descended from the top of the Dome to the scaffold and called two men from the floor of the Rotunda to assist in the rescue of your petitioner.

A miraculous escape from falling to the floor of the Rotunda a distance of fifty-eight feet was effected but the fright and shock to the nerves of your petitioner resulted in a

MR. AND MRS. C. BRUMIDI

Pictured here are the artist and his young American wife, Lola Germon, taken from old photographs saved by Lola in her album of memories. The originals have been cherished through the years by Mildred Thompson (of Washington, D. C.), Lola’s great-grandniece. We believe that both photographs were taken about the time of the Brumidi-Germon marriage, around 1860. From 1860 to 1865 was Brumidi’s period of greatest financial success in America and probably his years of greatest acclaim and happiness. It was on the back of this photograph of Lola Germon that her little boy Laurence chose to write, “This is my lovely Mamma.”

very severe attack of asthma which now prevents him from constant work upon the scaffold but he is able and desirous, however, to continue work in his studio upon the Designs and Cartoons which of course require to be made before they can be copied or painted upon the walls.

The late Senator S. Foot, acting President of the Senate, at one time placed your petitioner upon regular payroll of the Capitol employees.

Now, therefore, in view of these facts that your petitioner became injured in the performance of his duty, that he is unable to perform continuous service on the scaffold, your petitioner respectfully requests that the Honorable Committee will cause his name to be again placed upon the regular Payroll of Capitol employees in order that the work may be continued as the health of the petitioner may permit him to work upon the scaffold in fresco or upon the cartoons.

The petitioner hopes to obtain this benefit as a reward of the long life spent in the service of the government.

C. Brumidi

The other letter of interest about a member of Brumidi’s family found in the Brumidi file at the Capitol was written from Paris, France, April 4, 1894, and is signed “Laurence S. Brumidi.” Laurence is the boy to whom Senator Morrill referred in his Senate speech on February 24, 1880, as the “adopted son” of Brumidi. This letter from Laurence to the Architect of the Capitol leads us to believe that Laurence is the artist’s own son. The letter is quoted in full as it is the only original document in the Brumidi file throwing any light on the American born son of the artist:

“It may seem strange after so many years’ silence I recall myself to you. Necessity compels me to claim not only your remembrance, but also your favorable attention. First, I will offer for consideration my petition then my reasons for making it. I have in my possession a portrait of my father, also a sketch of the Dome, “The Apotheosis of Washington.” These I would gladly sell to the Government or Corcoran Art Gallery for one thousand dollars.

“Only a pressing need could cause me to offer these precious souvenirs of my father for sale. But the moment has arrived when all must be sacrificed in order to assure future prosperity. Now the last four years have been spent in Paris pursuing my studies in the art chosen when I little knew the sacrifices required by it.

“I have exposed in the Paris Salon for several years and this year have been promised an honor, and my picture will be reproduced in a number of illustrated art publications.

“By this you will perceive that could I pursue the route now open to me for another year I could grasp the fortune offered by success. Unfortunately I find myself quite exhausted by these last efforts and today without funds.

“If the souvenir of my father’s friendship for you will aid my cause I invoke that souvenir knowing that a kindness to his son would be the happiest return for his esteem and friendship.

“If instead of purchasing the pictures in question you could give me some work to execute here and bring home with me next year, that would be more agreeable providing I could thereby obtain some money immediately. I can very easily execute any commission you care to give me.

“Trusting that this application made at the last moment and after years of hard effort will meet your approval and bring the desired aid so urgently required.”

Laurence Brumidi

WORKING SKETCH FOR THREE GRACES

Lola Germon is responsible for the early preservation of this little sketch of Brumidi’s nine beautiful maidens. It was a gift to Mrs. Ashmun Brown from her Aunt Lola. These maidens as painted in fresco on the ceiling of the District of Columbia Committee Room of the Senate are reproduced elsewhere in this book. This working sketch has had tender care, the colors being as softly beautiful today as those in the ceiling fresco itself.

This letter from Laurence S. Brumidi stirs many a question but the next truth uncovered about Laurence Brumidi left only silent years following the letter from Paris. Laurence was admitted to St. Elizabeth’s asylum in Washington, D. C., on May 26, 1916, and, according to the St. Elizabeth records, he died there on November 9, 1920, at the age of fifty-four.

Since the birth records at the Vital Statistics Bureau of the District of Columbia go back only as far as 1872, it has been impossible to find a record of the birth of Laurence. The District Records in the Marriage License Bureau of the Muncipal Court in Washington do not record a marriage for Mr. Brumidi in the early 1860’s. The marriage, of course, could have taken place in any nearby city.

In 1879 Mr. Brumidi made a Will which was filed, but not probated. In this Will, a copy of which follows, the artist referred to Laurence as “my boy,” bequeathed to him all of his “estate and property, real and personal” and made no mention of Laurence’s mother or of his half-sister, Elena, in Italy:

Washington, D. C., June 27, 1879
“In the name of God, Amen,

“I, Constantino Brumidi, of No. 921 G. Street, Washington, D. C., make this my last will.

“I give, devise and bequeath all my estate and property, real and personal, to my boy, named, called and known by the name of Laurence S. Brumidi, as follows, that is to say:

“All engravings, works of art, paintings and apparatus pertaining thereto that I now or may hereafter possess; all designs or sketches and tracings for the frieze of the Capitol of the United States and any other purpose; my gold watch and chain, bookcase, library and all objects and things in my room; all money that I have in possession, or that may be due me at the time of my demise, from the United States government or any other source.

“These things and any or all property, real and personal, that I may now have or may hereafter possess do I convey to said Laurence S. Brumidi, to be enjoyed by him, his heirs or assigns, forever, free from all claim or claims of any, every and all persons, whomsoever, claiming or to claim the same or any part thereof, by, under or through me or any of my heirs.

“I appoint Robert Mason of Washington, D. C., my executor, who shall receive no reward.”

Constantino Brumidi

This Will of Constantino Brumidi was brought to light in Washington in 1919 when a lengthy article appeared in the Washington Sunday Star of November 2, entitled:

“Brumidi Paintings Found in Washington
After a Search of Forty Years.”

It seems that in 1919, The National Savings and Trust Company, on New York Avenue, about a block from the White House, found in their storage vault two large boxes containing twenty-four Brumidi paintings including a sketch of the Dome canopy—a circular canvas upon which was painted the design for the ceiling of the Dome. When and by whom these boxes were stored will probably never be known but it is entirely possible that they were packed away in the early years after having been willed to Laurence Brumidi.

The newspaper article for November 2, 1919, quotes the accumulated storage charges as $300. It states also that “the packing evidently was done by Brumidi himself because they were arranged so expertly as to sustain no damage whatever.”

The boxes were opened by Court Order by Mr. Edward P. Schwartz who was named executor of the 1879 Brumidi will, and also “named committeeman by the Court” for Laurence who had been committed to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

All of these Brumidi paintings found in 1919 are reported to have been sold at auction, including two large portraits of Lola Germon, Brumidi’s American-born wife and the mother of Laurence. The Sunday Star, in the above-mentioned article, reproduced the portrait of Lola and commented upon her beauty as well as upon her likeness to many of the Madonnas in the Capitol frescoes.

Charles E. Fairman, art curator of the Capitol, was present at the time these storage boxes were opened and has left a list of the contents of each box. He records a total of twenty-four paintings. Fairman also makes mention of the two portraits of Lola Germon in heavy gold, oval-shaped frames. But no one connected with the Capitol Building, so far as I have been able to learn, made a bid for any of the stored Brumidi paintings.

I have found, however, that two letters are on file from Mr. Edward P. Schwartz to Capitol authorities giving detailed information concerning the stored paintings. The Schwartz letter dated October 21, 1919, follows:

“Sometime ago I was made Executor under the Will of Mrs. Lola V. Kirkwood, who was the widow of Constantino Brumidi, the artist who devoted more than 25 years of his life to the beautification of the Capitol. Mr. Brumidi has a son who is now in the Insane Asylum and under Mr. Brumidi’s Will, which was filed and never probated, he left all of his etchings of the Capitol and designs, etc., together with other paintings to his son. The Court appointed me Committeeman of this son with instructions to examine the several boxes that have been in storage for over thirty years and have their contents appraised and report to the Court. If you are interested, call by my office and we will go over and have these boxes opened to see what they contain as you may be able to make some suggestion as to their disposal.”

On February 21, 1920, Mr. Schwartz wrote again to the Capitol, this time to the Joint Committee on the Library:

“I am sending herewith enclosed an item in the Sunday’s Star entitled ‘Brumidi Paintings found in Washington after a Search of Forty Years.’ You will notice that these paintings are the original, or the copies from which Brumidi decorated the Capitol. Among the twenty-seven oil paintings of various sizes belonging to the estate of Brumidi, of which I am the Executor and Committeeman for his son, Laurence S. Brumidi, who is now in St. Elizabeth’s Asylum for the insane, there is one worthy of consideration, and that is the original oil painting of the Rotunda of the Capitol which I have in storage and is in excellent condition. This miniature is in oil, about 35 inches in diameter from which, no doubt, he copied his wonderful Rotunda painting. It is quite an education and shows the process of making a great picture. There are quite a number of his paintings in the collection, and I was wondering if the Committee on the Library would be sufficiently interested to confer with the object of offering a suggestion as to the final disposition of these paintings. It is my judgment they should be in the Capitol, as they are all, I believe, originals, and the only ones existing.... Personally, I would like to see these paintings in the Capitol.”

Mr. Fairman has left the following memorandum, dated October 22, 1919, in the Capitol files referring to the information from Mr. Schwartz: “Called on Edward P. Schwartz at 734 Fifteenth Street, N. W., in relation to attached letter. Mr. Schwartz showed me a copy of the Will of Constantino Brumidi, executed at 921 G Street, N. W., June 27, 1879, in which he appoints Robert Mason of Washington, D. C., his executor. The Will is witnessed by Wm. H. Appleton, A. H. Whittaker, Martha Dent, and Robert Mason. I made a copy of one section of the Will. While the entire Will is in favor of Laurence S. Brumidi, this paragraph seems to be the only one in which this office is interested:

“‘All engravings, works of art, paintings, and apparatus pertaining thereto ... all designs, sketches and tracings for the frieze of the Capitol of the U. S.’

“Mr. Schwartz also showed me his authority as Committeeman for Laurence S. Brumidi (insane) and stated that he was also the executor of the Will of Lola V. Kirkwood, former wife of Constantino Brumidi, that Mrs. Kirkwood married a second time one Kirkwood an Army officer, that he had searched for the boxes referred to in his letter and finally found them in storage at the National Savings and Trust Co., corner of N. Y. Ave. & 15th St., where they had been for over thirty years, and on which he had paid storage for that period amounting to about $386. He further stated that Mrs. Kirkwood and Laurence S. Brumidi had forgotten where the two boxes were stored. He will fix a date for opening the boxes and phone me so that I can be present and see the contents of the boxes.”

On January 16, 1925, the Capitol authorities were again informed concerning the pending auction of these Brumidi originals, this time by a newspaper correspondent living in Washington. His name was Ashmun Brown and this is what he wrote:

“It may interest you to know that a considerable collection of the paintings of Brumidi, the fresco artist, is to be sold at auction at Sloane’s Gallery, on January 28th and 29th, by order of the Probate Court incident to the settlement of the estates of his widow and son. The pictures are to be open to inspection at Sloane’s on January 25th-28th. While I have never seen this collection, I understand that it contains several of Brumidi’s original studies for frescoes which now adorn the walls of the Capitol. I am told that at one time a valuation of about $20,000 was placed on this collection. However, when it was offered for sale at auction several months ago, the highest bid obtained was only $800. So at the insistence of the heirs another offering has been ordered. It occurred to me that you might be interested in the matter.”

Brumidiana Outside the United States Capitol

REFERENCE by Charles E. Fairman to two portraits of Lola Germon painted by Brumidi and preserved in heavy gold frames that were finally sold at auction in the Capitol City of the United States in 1925 fired my interest anew in the American-born wife of Brumidi, the beautiful girl who is said to have modeled for many of the Madonnas painted on Capitol walls and ceilings. While searching for something tangible about Lola Germon I was led to an extensive inquiry as to Brumidi’s burial place.