A Hallowed Figure in American Art and Culture: the Bald Eagle

Besides our flag, the bald eagle is perhaps the most emblematic symbol of American freedom and democracy. First included in the Great Seal of the United States in 1782, it's been considered our national bird ever since.

Sometime over the last 250 years, Americans had wholly grown to assume the bald eagle's figurative rank, but Congress hasn't officially declared it the national bird, yet. Earlier this year, legislation was introduced that aims to properly enshrine its status.

Read on to catch a few glimpses of this majestic bird soaring within areas under the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) care.

The Great Seal Medallion

Emile Garet's plaster medallion representing the Great Seal of the United States, cast in 1905, displays the bald eagle as its centerpiece. This eagle was first incorporated in the Great Seal via a 1782 committee decision, after several failed designs were tabled by Congress.

In more recent history, the medallion has appeared on many inaugural platforms at the U.S. Capitol and is currently featured in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center's new exhibition, "The Nation's Stage."

Liberty's Right-Hand Bird

Enrico Causici's plaster sculpture, with its prominent eagle accompanying a 13-foot-tall Liberty, looks down upon National Statuary Hall. The room, built after the burning of the Capitol in 1814, was originally the Hall of the House. The House of Representatives no longer meets here. It moved to its current, larger chamber in 1857, where it is easier to hear Members' speeches. 

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The tablature directly under the Causici sculpture in the same room also features yet another eagle. This one, a sandstone relief carved by Guiseppe Valaperta, spreads its wings protectively over those gathered in the hall and keeps watch over the statues housed there.

Eagle in an Egress & War Panel

The U.S. Capitol's hallways and special rooms include symbolic imagery across their frescoed walls and ceilings.

Eagles, like the two above, appear within rinceaux (ornamental vine motifs) in patterns that climb the walls of the Brumidi Corridors. The ceiling of the Senate Reception Room on the second floor of the U.S. Capitol incorporates frescoes, also by Constantino Brumidi, including the "War" panel with Minerva and a cherub by her side riding on an eagle.

Bronze Railings

When the House and Senate wing extensions were added to the Capitol Building, so too were four private staircases for Members of Congress.

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Brumidi sketched the design, which included vines, putti, eagles and stags. For accuracy in his work, the bronze modeler charged with creating the decorations brought live eagles and deer — among other things — into his studio.

Marble Pediments

The Genius of America pediment, replicated and placed in 1962, that appears above the U.S. Capitol's central East Front entrance includes a larger-than-life eagle keeping a careful eye on America (the central figure), flanked by Hope (at her left) and Justice (on her right).

Visible from the east entrance on the Senate wing of the Capitol is another notable pediment. The eagle here, in the 80-foot-long Progress of Civilization by Thomas Crawford, stands alongside an allegorical figure of America, who is lit by rays of sun at her back.

Preserved in Carvings

Many committee and hearing rooms in the House and Senate office buildings contain eagles in their dais as carvings, within the Great Seal or on their own. Recently, the AOC woodcrafters have preserved the eagles pictured above as part of a modernization program in the Rayburn, Cannon and Dirksen Buildings.