Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1913-08-01
ART OF CAPITOL.
Mural Decorations Among Fea-
lures In National Building.
INTERESTING TO NATURALISTS
Walls Are Draped With CoIored Pic.
lures of Fruit and Flowers While
Beautiful Birds Are Painted In Won
derful Plumaqe.


Beautiful Birds Are Painted In Won
derful PIumage.
The mural decorations of the lowel
floor Of the senate wing of the capitol
in Washington are among the remark.
able features of that remarkable build
ing. They are of unfailing and I'M
tagging interest to those who can af-
ford the time to linger there, says the
Washington Star. This variety and
close detail of oil fresco cannot be un-
derstood by being glimpsed. 1t must
be carefully studied. Even to one
whose art warnings make no impera-
tive call the many figures and designs
of this amazing work are fascinating
AS a rule, this part of the capitol is
rarely crowded by sightseers. though
parties of tourists are conducted thither
by the guides. People in those corri-
doris usually have business with the
barber shop, the "Refectory" - which
word is painted over the door of the
restaurant-Or the stationery roc,',, or
the committee on enrolled bills. or the
committee on appropriations. or the
senate poStoffice.
From these corridors, leading up to the
senate floors, are two marble stairways,
each guarded by sign which reads,
Private Entrance For Senators"
And, though making slight excursion
from the matter of the frescoes, it is
we'll to examine the ornate and mas
Sive bronze balustrade, wrought with
eagles and cherubs, that bounds one
side of each of these StaircaSeS. On
top of the bronze balustrade is Il wide
and heavy brass railing polished like
FURNISHED gold, and on this rail at the
bottom post is this inscription: "Bau
din. Artist. Philadelphia. 1889"
Brumidi and his assistants were
working here before the civil war. and
it is said that this decorative scheme
was meant to be extended to the
whole building, but everybody knows
that this idea was not carried out. 1t
is curious to reflect that the scheme. or
at least q part of the scheme. in the
art decoration of the senate wing was
to depict the ornithology of this CONT
nent and to give a generous represen-
tatiOn of American fauna. 1t is an in
teresting place for the naturalist The
walls are draped with brilliantly col
Ored pictures of fruits and flowers,
among which are counterfeit present
ments of pheasants. wild pigeons.
woodcock, grouse, cartridges and
meadow larks.
The bluejay and the catbird, the
robin, the woodpecker and the flicker
and the bullfnch are there. One can
also study the cardinal bird. the bobo
link. the bluebird, the thrush. the
hooking bird and flOcks Of humming
birds. Among the vines and flowers
and brilliant scrOllwOrk snakes coil
and loop themselves here and there.
Chipmunks, squirrels field mice, flying
squirrels. moles. weasels. goats and
deer figure in the art scheme. Nearly
all the models for this decorative work
were obtained from the Smithsonian
institution, and in cases where that
institution could not respond recourse
was had to illustrations in standard
books.
If you enter at the north door of the
senate wing the first pictures you see
are goats on elcher side of the hall. On
the right is the room of the commit
tee of enrolled bills and over the door
of that room is large painting of
Kent.
On the opposite side of the hall. owe,
door on which there is no inscrip-
ton, is a picture of Story Then, in
panels along the walls. framed by fan.
ciful scrollwork. are pictures of
moose, a goat with twisted horns, an
owl and a red headed WoOdpecker.
There are medalliOns of unlabeled
statesmen. cherubs supporting the
American shield. punches of arrows,
landscapes, snakes and flowers. You
soon come to the east and west corri-
dor, and here. among the birds and
other things that fly and crawl and
cough and stalk and grow upon the
walls and ceiling, are medallion pOr-
traits of Daniel Morgan, Jonathan
Turnbull, Horatio- Gates, Israel Put
nam. Silas Dean. Thomas NIifflin, Rich
ard Montgomery, Joseph Warren. Rob-
ert Morris, Charles Carroll. Charles
Thomson, Roger Sherman, John Jay,
Robert r. Livingston, Francis Hop
kinson and John Hancock. Down here
among this art are the rooms of the
committee on rules and the committee
on interstate commerce.