IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 101 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 

Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp in 2015 

to honor Constantino Brumidi, Artist of the Capitol, and to commemorate 

the 150th anniversary of his completion of ‘‘The Apotheosis of Washington’’ in the eye of the dome of the Capitol, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 5, 2013 

Ms. NORTON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the United States Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp in 2015 to honor Constantino 

Brumidi, Artist of the Capitol, and to commemorate 

the 150th anniversary of his completion of ‘‘The Apotheosis of Washington’’ in the eye of the dome of the 

Capitol, and for other purposes. 

Whereas on July 1, 2008, President George W. Bush signed 

an Act of Congress authorizing the Congressional Gold 

Medal be posthumously awarded to Constantino Brumidi 

for his work in the Capitol over 25 years; 

Whereas the Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honor 

of civilian achievement that the Congress bestows, and 

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this makes Constantino Brumidi worthy of a commemorative stamp; 

Whereas it has been estimated that approximately 2,000,000 

people saw Constantino Brumidi’s most famous work of 

art, ‘‘The Apotheosis of Washington’’, in the Rotunda of 

the Capitol last year; 

Whereas on July 11, 2012, the Congressional Gold Medal 

was presented in the Capitol, in a ceremony attended by 

the House and Senate leadership and many Members of 

Congress; 

Whereas on July 26, 1805, Constantino Brumidi was born in 

Rome, Italy, of an Italian mother and a Greek father who 

inspired him with a love of liberty; 

Whereas Constantino Brumidi’s Greek ancestry stirred his 

passion for liberty and citizenship, and his Italian heritage provided the art styles of the Renaissance and the 

Baroque periods which influenced the artwork of the 

United States Capitol; 

Whereas Constantino Brumidi became a citizen of the United 

States as soon as he was able, embracing its history, values, and ideals; 

Whereas in 1865, at the end of the Civil War, Constantino 

Brumidi completed in just 11 months his masterpiece, 

‘‘The Apotheosis of Washington’’, in the eye of the Capitol dome; 

Whereas in 1871, Constantino Brumidi created the first tribute to an African-American in the Capitol when he placed 

the figure of Crispus Attucks at the center of his fresco 

of the Boston Massacre; 

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Whereas in 1878, Constantino Brumidi, at the age of 72 and 

in poor health, began work on the Rotunda frieze, which 

chronicles the history of America; 

Whereas on February 19, 1880, Constantino Brumidi died at 

the age of 74, four-and-a-half months after slipping and 

nearly falling from a scaffold while working on the Rotunda frieze; 

Whereas Constantino Brumidi, proud of his artistic accomplishments and devoted to his adopted country, said, ‘‘My 

one ambition and my daily prayer is that I may live long 

enough to make beautiful the Capitol of the one country 

on earth in which there is liberty’’; 

Whereas Constantino Brumidi’s life and work exemplify the 

lives of millions of immigrants who came to pursue the 

American dream; 

Whereas the United States Postal Service has yet to issue a 

stamp to honor the memory of Constantino Brumidi, Artist of the Capitol; and 

Whereas issuing a postage stamp to honor the memory of 

Constantino Brumidi, Artist of the Capitol, is fitting and 

proper: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the United States Postal Service should 

4 issue a commemorative postage stamp to honor 

5 Constantino Brumidi, Artist of the Capitol; 

6 (2) the stamp should be issued to commemorate 

7 the 150th anniversary of Constantino Brumidi’s 

8 completion of ‘‘The Apotheosis of Washington’’; and 

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1 (3) the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee 

2 should recommend to the Postmaster General that 

3 such a stamp be so issued. 

Æ 

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