111th Congress, 2nd Session
Subjects – Art and Artifacts
Artist Gilbert Stuart’s portraits of George Washington
April 12, 1796
On this date, President George Washington posed for artist Gilbert Stuart for the famous Lansdowne portrait, the basis for two of the first chief executive’s portraits in the U.S. Capitol.
Congressman and poet John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts
April 16, 1831
On this day, while serving in the 22nd Congress (1831–1833), John Quincy Adams penned the epic poem, “Dermot MacMorrough, or The Conquest of Ireland.”
The first meeting of architect Montgomery Meigs and artist Constantino Brumidi
December 28, 1854
On this date, artist Constantino Brumidi met Captain Montgomery C. Meigs, engineer in charge of the construction and decoration of the Capitol extension.