Art: 26 Feet of History

So far as the famous historical frieze in the rotunda of the Capitol is concerned, American history begins with Columbus and ends with the discovery of gold in California in 1848. But for 64 years there has been an unfinished blank space waiting to be painted in. Last week, at the bidding of Congress, Muralist Allyn Cox of Manhattan was busy with a $15,000 commission to bring history up to date—a bit.

Cox’s problem: the original muralists, Constantino Brumidi and Filippo Costaggini, had used up 274 ft. of the available 300 in getting from Columbus to the Gold Rush (among the scenes generously laid out in their panels: Pocahontas saving the life of Captain John Smith, William Penn’s treaty with the Indians, the death of Tecumseh). That left 26 ft. for everything since. Cox’s solution will be three brief scenes bringing the U.S. up to the age of flight: 1) Union and Confederate soldiers shaking hands after the Civil War, 2) the gun crew of a U..S. warship in the Spanish-American War, and 3) Orville Wright taking off in his fresh-air biplane with his brother Wilbur running alongside, steadying a wing tip.