The art in the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol and the Senate office buildings has been acquired principally for its public, patriotic, and commemorative characteristics. The Senate maintains a diverse collection that includes paintings, sculpture, and graphic and decorative art.
Much of the collection can be viewed online through collection lists located in the Art section of the Senate's Web site. Several online exhibits also have been created to provide an in-depth look at certain collections or pieces of artwork.
Online Exhibits
Using primary documents and common sense, Rumors! Tall Tales about Senate Art debunks several of the most commonly heard rumors about Senate Art.
The online exhibit, Henry Clay in the U.S. Senate: Rediscovering An Historic Painting, examines the life of both the painting and one of the Senate's greatest orators.
The Senate Chamber Desks Web site features interactive maps of the Senate floor, desk histories, and short vignettes about the Senate's historic desks. The exhibit is updated with each new Congress and with every change in desk occupancy.
The story of the Senate's first office building, the Russell Building, is told through rare photographs dating back to the early twentieth century.
Isaac Bassett: A Senate Memoir provides a look at the nineteenth-century Senate through the eyes of one of the institution's longest serving employees.
Advise and Consent: Drawings by Lily Spandorf is an exhibit of sketched scenes of the Capitol and Senate office buildings during the filming of Otto Preminger's work, Advise & Consent.
The Puck Challenge allows one to test his or her knowledge of nineteenth-century politics and how the issues of the time were represented in the media.
Visit the Art and History section of the Senate's Web site, or the page Learn about the Senate, for additional information about the Senate.
