A manual on the origin and development of WashingtonCaemmerer, H. Paul (Hans Paul)
History
A manual on the origin and development of Washington
Caemmerer, H. Paul (Hans Paul)
Washington (D.C.) -- Description and travel; Washington (D.C.) -- History
The bronze doors of the Senate wing were designed by Thomas Crawford,
sculptor, though the actual work of executing the plaster models was
done by William H. Rinehart. They represent Crawford’s last work as a
sculptor. It was first contemplated that one of the doors should be
cast at the Royal Bavarian Foundry in Munich and that the other door
should be cast in this country. The death of Thomas Crawford in 1857
and the subsequent occurrence of the Civil War caused many of the plans
to be changed. The doors, the first of that kind in America, were
finally cast in 1868 at Chicopee, Mass., by James T. Ames, and the
expense, $50,000, was far greater than was anticipated at the time when
it was planned to have the work done in this country. They weigh 14,000
pounds. The sculptor, Rinehart, received about $9,000.
Each of the doors consists of three panels and a medallion picturing
events of the Revolutionary War.
The upper panel of the right-hand door contains a representation of
the death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17,
1775; the center panel shows General Washington rebuking Gen. Charles
Lee at the Battle of Monmouth, N. J., on June 28, 1778; the lower panel
pictures the storming of a redoubt at Yorktown, Va., led by Alexander
Hamilton, on October 14, 1781; the medallion at the bottom represents a
conflict between a Hessian soldier and a New Jersey farmer.
The medallion at the bottom of the left-hand door represents Peace
and Agriculture. Above is a panel showing General Washington passing
underneath an arch of flowers at Trenton, N. J., while on his way to
New York City to be inaugurated as the first President of the United
States; the middle panel represents Washington taking the oath of
office as President, which was administered by Chancellor Livingston
on April 30, 1789--the United States Supreme Court had not as yet been
organized, so that the oath could not be administered by the Chief
Justice. The top panel represents President Washington laying the
corner stone of the Capitol on September 18, 1793.
[Illustration: BRONZE DOORS AT THE SENATE WING, BY CRAWFORD]
BRONZE DOORS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WING
The bronze doors of the House of Representatives resemble in general
outline and arrangement the bronze doors of the Senate. Each door
consists of three panels and a medallion picturing events in American
history. The design is that of Thomas Crawford, sculptor, but the
modeling and completion was that of William H. Rinehart. The models
after being transported to this country remained for a long time in
storage and were finally cast by M. H. Mosman, at Chicopee, Mass., who
had succeeded to or continued the business organization of James T.
Ames, by whom the Senate doors were cast.
The doors were installed in the autumn of 1905, the cost to the
Government being $45,000.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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