Brumidi painted four large, bronze-colored medallions on the walls of
this room, each medallion recording the profile of a noted chairman of
the Foreign Relations Committee.
On the north wall is Henry Clay of Kentucky who served the Committee as
chairman from 1834 to 1836. On the south wall is William S. Allen of
Ohio, Committee chairman from 1845 to 1846. The east wall portrays Simon
E. Cameron of Pennsylvania, who was chairman from 1871 to 1877, while on
the west wall is Charles W. Sumner of Massachusetts, chairman from 1861
to 1871.
The voucher paying Brumidi for this work, dated June 21, 1874, reads as
follows:
“For painting four medallion portraits in the Committee Room of Foreign
Affairs, United States Senate, @ $50 each--$200.”