Explore Capitol Hill

Paintings

Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto
Oil on canvas by William H. Powell, 1853.
The painting depicts the arrival of Hernando De Soto and his men at the Mississippi River in 1541.

The Landing of Columbus
Oil on canvas by John Vanderlyn, 1846.
The painting depicts the landing on San Salvador Island by Columbus. Accompanying Columbus are Martín and Vincente Pinzón, Rodrigo de Escobedo, Rodrigo Sánchez de Segovia, Alonzo Ojeda, and other members of his crew.

The Recall of Columbus
by Augustus Goodyear Heaton
Senate Collection

Settlement of California, Bay of Monterey
Oil on canvas by Albert Bierstadt, 1878.
The painting depicts a mass offered by Father Junipero Serra in 1770 to celebrate the founding of the missions of San Carlos in Monterey, San Diego, and San Antonio.

Portraits

E. (Kika) DeLa Garza
Oil on canvas by Jena Rawley-Whitaker.
Representative DeLa Garza represented the 15th Congressional District of Texas in the House of Representatives from 1965 to 1996. He was chairman of the House Agriculture Committee from 1981 to 1994.

Henry B. González
Oil on canvas by Jesse Trevino.
Representative González represented the 20th Congressional District of Texas in the House of Representatives from 1961 until 1999. He was chairman of the House Banking and Financial Services Committee from 1989 to 1994.

Murals

Bartolomé de Las Casas, the Apostle of the Indians
Oil on plaster by Constantino Brumidi, 1876
Brumidi Corridors, Senate wing

Landing of Columbus by Constantino Brumidi, 1878–1880

Cortez and Montezuma at Mexican Temple by Constantino Brumidi, 1878–1880

Pizarro Going to Peru by Constantino Brumidi, 1878–1880

Burial of De Soto by Constantino Brumidi, 1878–1880

American Army Entering the City of Mexico by Filippo Costaggini, 1880–1889

Naval Gun Crew in the Spanish-American War by Allyn Cox, 1953

Spanish Mission
Oil on canvas by Evergreene Painting Studios, 1993. Located in Westward Expansion Corridor, House wing, first floor west.

Sculpture—Statues

Dennis Chavez
Bronze by Felix de Weldon, 1966.

Father Junipero Serra
Bronze by Ettore Cadorin, 1930.

Sculpture—Relief Plaque

Alfonso X
Marble by Gaetano Cecere, 1949. Alfonso X was King of Castile and Léon. He was the author of the Fuero Real, a compilation of local legislation for general use, and originator of the code Las Siete Partidas, used as a basis for Spanish jurisprudence.

Sculpture—Bronze Doors

Columbus Doors
Designed and modeled by Randolph Rogers in 1858; bronze cast in 1861, installed in 1863.

• Landing of Columbus in the New World—Lunette of Columbus and his crew
• Columbus before the Council of Salamanca—Statuette of Juan Pérez de Marchena, prior of the Convent of La Rábida
• Columbus's Departure from the Convent of La Rábida—Statuettes of Hernán Cortés, the conqueror of Mexico, and Lady Beatrix de Bobadilla, an attendant of Queen Isabella who befriended Columbus
• Audience at the Court of Ferdinand and Isabella—Statuettes of Alonzo Ojeda, a Spanish adventurer who accompanied Columbus to the New World, and Queen Isabella
• Departure of Columbus from Palos--Statuette of Pedro Gonzáles de Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo and Grand Cardinal of Spain
• Columbus's First Encounter with the Indians—Statuette of the Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro
• Entry of Columbus into Barcelona—Statuettes of King Ferdinand of Spain and Vasco Nùñez de Balboa, the Spanish discoverer of the Pacific Ocean
• Death of Columbus—Statuettes of King John II of Portugal and Martín Alonzo Pinzón, the commander of the Pinta

Artists

Marisol Escobar (1930– )
Sculptor, Statue of Father Damien

Henrique Medina
Painter, Portrait of Charles L. McNary, Senate Collection

Francisco Pausas (1877–1940)
Painter, Portrait of Thomas U. Walter

Jesse Trevino (1946– )
Painter, Portrait of Henry Gonzales