Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/99748
First Lady Nancy Reagan joined in the celebration of Cox's birthday at the Capitol in 1981. WESTWARD EXPANSION CORRIDOR Progress on the second hall of murals was slowed by Cox's declining health. A special motorized lift was installed to carry the artist up and down the scaffolding. After devoting over a decade to the project, Cox retired in 1982 and turned over the responsibility for finishing Great Experiment Hall to his chosen successor. Congress honored the venerated artist's retirement with a special ceremony in Statuary Hall on September 21, at which Speaker of the House Thomas P. O'Neill, Sen. Howard Baker, President Schwengel, and others presented tributes. Cox died soon after, on September 26, 1982. Cliff Young completed Great Experiment Hall and began preliminary work for a third phase of murals that Cox had planned to depict the westward territo- rial expansion of the United States. This set of murals was slated for the western north-south corridor of the ground floor of the House wing. Preliminary sketches showed a series of maps of the territory of the United States at different time periods with scenes characteristic of each era. Young's health, however, worsened and he died on February 22, 1986, before this final phase of the mural project could begin. FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF Cliff Young, Architect of the Capitol George M. White conducted a thorough search to find an artist capable of fulfilling Cox's vision for the final Westward Expansion Corridor of murals. The search ultimately led to the 1992 selection of EverGreene Studios of New York City (now EverGreene Architectural Arts) under the leadership of artist Jeffrey Greene. Greene and his fellow artists studied the notes, sketches, and schemes left by Cox and Young and prepared full-scale cartoons for approval by the architect of the Capitol. Seven large maps extending across the curvature of the ceiling trace the westward expansion of the nation. Each map features two illustrative scenes of the time period and the maps are presented in the cartographic style of each era. Four groin vaults in the corridor Senator Howard Baker praised Cox's creation of "instant history" at the National Statuary Hall ceremony honoring the artist on his retirement in 1982. Also on the dais (from left to right) are Rep. J. J. Pickle, Baker, Cox, President-General of the DAR Mrs. Richard Denny Shelby, and President Schwengel. 30 THE CAPITOL DOME WINTER 2013