Studies for Jefferson Building
Murals
Kenyon Cox (1856-1919)
Study for Architecture,
ca. 1895
Drapery study for figure of
Botany, ca. 1895
Graphite drawings
Prints & Photographs Division
Exchange with the Museum of Art, Rhode Island
School
of Design, 1945 (7.11a,b)
[ Digital ID#s ppmsca-05388, ppmsca-05571 ]
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In 1893, famed architect Charles McKim asked artist Kenyon Cox
to create a mural for a museum in Brunswick, Maine. Cox's success
led McKim to recommend him to the Library of Congress, which was
in search of the most accomplished American sculptors and painters
of the day to complete the building's decorative program. Cox received
a commission to paint two lunettes in the Southwest Gallery, "The
Arts" (on the north end wall) and "The Sciences" (on the south
end wall). Cox made several preparatory sketches for his murals
in the Thomas Jefferson Building, like those on display here, covering
each in a grid with exacting measurements.
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Library of Congress
