The Capitol Dome

Summer 2016

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25 THE CAPITOL DOME Notes 1. Wendy Wolff, ed. Capitol Builder: The Shorthand Journals of Montgomery C. Meigs, 1853-1589, 1861 (Washington, DC, 2001), p. 500. Entries relating to the Capitol in the Montgomery C. Meigs Journal, Papers of Montgomery C. Meigs, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, were transcribed by William Mohr for the U.S. Senate Bicentennial Commission (MCM Journal). 2. Barbara A. Wolanin, "Meigs the Art Patron," in Montgomery C. Meigs and the Building of the Nation's Capital, ed. William C. Dickinson, Dean A. Herrin, and Donald R. Kennon (Athens, Ohio, 2001), p. 134. Paintings by both Eastman and Weir hang in the Capitol; Weir's Embarkation of the Pilgrims was installed in the Rotunda in 1843, and Seth Eastman's works depict army forts. 3. Ibid., p. 138. 4. Ibid., p. 143. 5. Michael Edward Shapiro, Bronze Casting and American Sculpture, 1850-1900 (Newark, 1985), p. 15. 6. Ibid., pp. 24-29. 7. Ibid., p. 29. 8. Barbara A. Wolanin, Constantino Brumidi: Artist of the Capitol (Washington, DC, 1998), p. 39. 9. When Brumidi first met Meigs, he was accompanied by a "bronze worker." Meigs does not identify the person by name in his journal, but it might well have been Casali, who had traveled with Brumidi from Mexico to New Orleans in December 1854 (MCM Journal, Dec. 28, 1854, in Wolff, Capitol Builder, pp. 180-81). 10. MCM Journal, April 9, 1855, in Wolff, Capitol Builder, p. 262. 11. The inscription on the drawing reads "Decoration of the [illegible] / Representative Hall / approved April 16th 1855 / MC- Meigs /Capn/Eng / in charge / The flowers to be as much as / pos- sible American." 12. MCM Journal, April 12, 1855. 13."Casting from Life," The Crayon, Oct. 31, 1855. 14. MCM Journal, April 27 and April 28, 1855, in Wolff, Capitol Builder, pp. 266-267. 15. Captain Montgomery C. Meigs to Federico Casali, Jan. 31, 1856, Capitol Extension and New Dome Letterbooks, Records of the Architect of the Capitol (hereafter AOC/LB). 16. Reports on the Capitol Extension, Re-Construction of the Dome, and Post Office Extension, Office of the Extension of the Capitol, Washington City, November 1856. 17. Meigs to Casali, Jan. 17, 1857, AOC/LB. 18. William C. Allen, History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics (Washington, DC, 2001), p. 265. 19. The details and features of the doors and their arrangement are similar to Constantino Brumidi's work at the time on the walls of the 1st floor Senate wing, known today as the Brumidi Corri- dors, and his design of the bronze railings in the House and Senate Wings. Brumidi's training and experiences in Rome gave him an understanding of ancient Roman, Renaissance, and Baroque styles and symbols. Little is known about Casali, but he too was from Rome, and given the similarities to Brumidi's work it may be con- cluded that Casali had training and experiences much like those of his travel companion and friend. 20. MCM Journal, July 13, 1857, in Wolff, Capitol Builder, p. 515. 21. MCM Journal, July 18, 1857, in Wolff, Capitol Builder, pp. 515-516. 22. Memo submitted by Lassalle listing articles made by him and the Bronze Shop from July 21, 1857, through December 1859. The memo includes a short description of each item, their quantity, and their cost. It is the most comprehensive list known of the work performed by the shop. 23. Meigs to Francis Vincenti, Sept. 18, 1856, and Meigs to West, date unknown, AOC/LB. 24. MCM Journal, January 27, 1857, and MCM Journal, March 14, 1857, in Wolff, Capitol Builder, p. 498, and MCM Journal, March 18, 1857. 25. MCM Journal, Nov. 23, 1857. Also, see MCM Journal, March 18, 1857. 26. In 1876, with the Post Office undergoing remodeling and there no longer being a place for it, the fountain was accepted by the Joint Committee on the Library and moved to the Capitol, where it remains today. 27. MCM Journal, Feb. 20, 1855. 28. The date of 1854 on the medallion appears to be incorrect, given that Be sheekee traveled to Washington, DC, in 1855 to negotiate a land treaty; it was during this visit that he sat for the portrait bust by Francis Vincenti. 29. MCM Journal, Jan. 9, 1858. 30. MCM Journal, Oct. 21, 1859. 31. Ibid. 32. Criticism of Meigs and his art program, including his use of foreign artists, as well as his long-strained working relationship with architect Thomas U. Walter, led to his removal. 33. Captain William B. Franklin to Lassalle, Nov. 7, 1859, AOC/LB 34. Materials of Historical Interest Removed from the Senate Chamber During its Renovation in 1949-1950, to be Disposed of by the Architect of the Capitol Under the Direction and Approval of the Special Senate Roof and Chamber Committee, Pursuant to the Provisions of Sec. 3 of Public Law 731, 81st Congress, Approved August 25, 1950. Records of the Architect of the Capitol, Washington, DC. 35. Franklin to W.R. Dunkard., Esq., Chief Clerk, War Depart- ment, Aug. 13, 1860, AOC/LB.

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