Architect of the Capitol employees are responsible for the care and preservation of more than 300 works of art, architectural elements, landscape features and more.

Browse our pieces below or learn more about the artists, collections and subjects.

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Displaying 271 - 279 of 320

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis

The painting Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull is on display in the Rotunda of the US Capitol. The subject of this painting is the surrender of the British army at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, which ended the last major campaign of the Revolutionary War.

Terra Incognita

The map is inscribed "Terra Incognita" (Latin for "Unknown Territory").

The Albany Congress, 1754

In 1754 the British government asked colonial representatives to meet in Albany, New York, to develop a treaty with Native Americans and plan the defense of the colonies against France.

The Birth of Aviation

The first flight at Kitty Hawk (December 17, 1903) is depicted, with Orville Wright in the Flyer, which has just left the ground, and Wilbur running alongside to steady the wing. In the background stand Leonardo da Vinci, Samuel Pierpont Langley, and Octave Chanute; each holds a model of his earlier design for a flying machine. An eagle with an olive branch in its talons emphasizes this flight as a great American achievement and closes this last scene. (1903)

The Columbus Doors

The Columbus Doors, also called the Rogers Doors or Rotunda Doors, stand imposingly at the main entrance to the U.S. Capitol Building, almost 17 feet high and weighing 20,000 pounds. Designed by American sculptor Randolph Rogers, each scene depicting the life of Christopher Columbus is finely modeled. The doors were installed in 1863 and moved to their present location in 1961 following the extension of the East Front of the Capitol.

The Constitutional Convention, 1787

Following the Revolutionary War, the new American government was first organized under the Articles of Confederation, but that document gave the federal government too little authority to be effect