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The Eagle and Shield
Artist unknown, Ca. 1834
Old Senate Chamber, 2nd floor, Senate wing
25 cent Stamp, Issued April 6, 1989
[image: The Eagle and Shield stamp]
[image: The Eagle and Shield in the Capitol]
Visitors to the United States Capitol may not realize that over 30 postal stamps have used paintings or sculpture located in the Senate as the basis for their design. The art in the Capitol is a fitting source for stamp covers as it commemorates many of the nation's distinguished leaders and significant events.
Postage stamps were first introduced in this country in 1840, when Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts proposed their use for the payment of mail. Early issues were simple in design, and gradually evolved into today's multi-colored works of art.
Because of its long association with the Senate, the eagle and shield was chosen for a stamp issued to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Senate in 1989. The first-day of issue ceremony for the stamp was held in the Old Senate Chamber, which has been restored to its mid-19th century appearance. Architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe planned for the carved gilt eagle and shield to be placed in the Old Senate Chamber, the Senate's meeting place from 1810 to 1859.
George Washington
Painting by Rembrandt Peale, 1832
Old Senate Chamber, 2nd floor, Senate wing
5 cent Stamp, Issued November 17, 1967
[image: George Washington stamp]
[image: Painting of George Washington]
The 5-cent issue of President George Washington in the Prominent American Series (1965-1971) was based on the "porthole" portrait of the first president by Rembrandt Peale. Public disappointment with an "unshaven" Washington on the original stamp resulted in a refined version a year later. The Prominent American Series includes 18 stamps, each in a different denomination.
The Recall of Columbus
Painting by Augustus George Heaton, 1882
East hallway, 3rd floor, Senate wing
50 cent Stamp, Issued January 2,1893
[image: Stamp of 'The Recall of Columbus']
[image: 'The Recall of columbus the painting]
In 1893, the painting The Recall of Columbus was loaned to the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus's landing in America. That same year the Post Office Department chose the painting to illustrate the 50-cent stamp in its first ever commemorative series. Artist Augustus Heaton chose to depict the point in Columbus's life when he was assured of financial support by the Spanish Crown for his exploration. The painting was purchased by Congress in 1884.
First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln
Painting by Francis Bicknell Carpenter, 1864
West staircase, 3rd floor, Senate wing
39 cent Aerogramme. Issued November 20, 1989
[image: Stamp of the painting 'First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln']
[image: Painting in the Senate collection 'First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln']
The stamp portion of the 39-cent aerogramme issued in 1989 was adapted from a painting by Francis Carpenter in the US Senate Collection. The stamp designer removed the cabinet members in the original painting and moved President Lincoln and Postmaster General Blair closer together. Known as the "Blairogramme," the postal issue was dedicated at the 1989 World Stamp Expo.
The Vice Presidential Bust Collection
The design for each stamp in the Presidential Series of 1938 was determined by the first ever national stamp design competition. The series includes six postal issues based on marble busts of vice presidents, who were also presidents, from the US Senate Collection. The marble busts were commissioned by the Senate for placement in niches in the Senate Chamber gallery and throughout the Senate wing of the Capitol. The Vice Presidential Bust Collection honors the presidents of the Senate and forms the institution's oldest continuing art collection. The Senate commissioned the first bust in 1885 as a tribute to Vice President Henry Wilson and placed it in the Vice President's Room, where Wilson had died ten years earlier. Traditionally, each vice president chooses an artist, and the necessary sittings occur after the vice president leaves office.
John Adams
Marble bust by Daniel Chester French, 1889
Senate Chamber gallery, 3rd floor, Senate wing
2 cent Stamp, Issued June 3,1938
[image: Two cent stamp of the bust of John Adams]
[image: Bust of John Adams]
The 2-cent John Adams stamp was issued as part of the Presidential Series of 1938. John Adams was vice president under Washington, and president from 1797 to 1801. Adams was among the first honored in the Senate's Vice Presidential Bust Collection. Massachusetts sculptor Daniel Chester French executed the bust. The artist's most celebrated work is the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Second Floor
[image: Key to Senate Art in stamps map of the Capitol third floor.]
[image: Key to Senate Art in stamps map of the Capitol second floor.]
Second Floor
1. The Eagle and Shield by unknown artist
2. George Washington by Rembrandt Peale
3. Theodore Roosevelt by James Earle Fraser
Third Floor
4. First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by Francis Bicknell Carpenter
5. John Adams by Daniel Chester French
6. Chester Arthur by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
7. Andrew Johnson by William C. McCauslen
8. Millard Fillmore by Robert Gushing
9. Martin Van Buren by U.S.J. Dunbar
10. The Recall of Columbus by Augustus G. Heaton
11. Abraham Lincoln by Sarah Fisher Ames
[image: The Old Senate Chamber]
Other Senate Art in Stamps
Chester Arthur
Marble bust by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1891
Senate Chamber gallery, 3rd floor, Senate wing
21-cent Stamp, Issued November 22, 1938
Millard Fillmore
Marble bust by Robert Cushing, 1895
Senate Chamber gallery, 3rd floor, Senate wing
13-cent Stamp, Issued September 22, 1938
Patrick Henry
Painting by George B. Matthews, ca. 1891
West hallway, 3rd floor, Senate wing
$1 Stamp, Issued October 7, 1955
Andrew Johnson
Marble bust by William C. McCauslen, 1900
Senate Chamber gallery, 3rd floor, Senate wing
17-cent Stamp, Issued October 27, 1938
John Paul Jones
Painting by George B. Matthews, ca. 1890
Russell Senate Office Building
15-cent Stamp, Issued September 23, 1979
Abraham Lincoln
Marble bust by Sarah Fisher Ames, 1862
West hallway, 3rd floor, Senate wing
16-cent Stamp, Issued October 20, 1938
Theodore Roosevelt
Marble bust by James Earl Fraser, 1910
West hallway, 2nd floor, Senate wing
30-cent Stamp, Issued December 8, 1938
Martin Van Buren
Marble bust by U. S. J. Dunbar, 1894
Senate Chamber gallery, 3rd floor, Senate wing
8-cent Stamp, Issued August 11, 1938
George Washington
Painting by Gilbert Stuart, ca. 1796-97
Room S-207, 2nd floor, Senate wing
10-cent Stamp, Issued May 10, 1855
S. Pub. 106-29
Prepared under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate by the Office of Senate Curator
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