The Frieze of American History

The frieze in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol contains a painted panorama depicting significant events in American history.

The frieze is the work of three artists. It was designed by Constantino Brumidi, an Italian artist who studied in Rome before emigrating to America.

Filippo Costaggini, who had also been trained in Rome, was selected to complete the remaining eight scenes using Brumidi's sketches. When he finished in 1889 there was a gap of over 31 feet because of early miscalculations about the height of the frieze. Costaggini hoped to fill it with three of his own scenes, but Congress failed to approve his designs before his death in 1904. In 1918 Charles Ayer Whipple painted a trial scene in the blank section; it was later removed.

In 1951 Allyn Cox was commissioned to paint the last three panels tracing the growth of the nation from the Civil War through the birth of aviation.