Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/650208
5 Since both the subject matter and use of sepia-toned grisaille in the frieze were predetermined, Cox's primary challenge in completing it was to replicate the appearance of Brumidi's scenes while filling the thirty-foot gap with scenes of the Civil and Span- ish-American Wars and the Wright Brothers' first flight. Having completed this commission, he went on to clean and undertake additional work on the original nineteenth-century sections of the frieze; five years later he returned to restore Brumidi's Apotheosis of Washington. He then produced his first original work in the Capitol, a portrait of Henry Clay for the Senate Reception Room, before proceeding with additional restoration work. By the time he began painting the House corridors in the early 1970s, Cox had amassed an impressive body of knowledge regarding the art and architecture of the Capitol and the legacy of past masters. In a 1973 inter view, he explained how his murals were intended to reflect and harmonize with the Neoclas- sical style of the building : I've tried to keep the decoration in the style of the build- ing, in this case, the House wing designed by omas U. Fig 4. Brumidi, Costaggini, and Cox, Frieze of American History ( esco, begun 1877, completed 1953), Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Scenes om the ieze by each artist: Fig. 5a. Allyn Cox, Frieze of American History, detail: "Peace at the End of the Civil War" (c. 1953) (le) and Fig. 5b. Constantino Brumidi, Frieze of American History, detail: "Landing of Christopher Columbus" (c. 1878) (right) Fig. 5c. Allyn Cox at work on the ieze ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL