Luigi Persico executed marble statues of War and Peace in Italy. They arrived at the Capitol in 1834 and were placed in niches on the east front portico, flanking the doors to the Capitol Rotunda. Over the following years both statues deteriorated badly, and in 1958 they were removed during the extension of the Capitol's east front.

The defaced figures were mended so that plaster models could be made from the originals by George Gianetti of Washington, D.C. Carvers then reproduced the new figures in Vermont marble, and they were placed in 1960.

The 1958 plaster models of War and Peace may be seen in the Cannon House Office Building rotunda, subway level.