“I am sorry to hear you have been again sick, and thought as much
when the letter came a little later than usual.
“Yes, when the lawyer’s letter came I found myself disappointed,
though I had promised myself not to be. If we had of gotten any
money you could easily put through that claim at Congress and could
also have made money out of those sketches of your father’s dome
pictures and others. It takes money to make money, unfortunately.
“I have always tried to coax you to keep up correspondence with
Elena. I don’t know why it is but I have lived in the hope that the
agent may sell enough of your father’s pictures in the fall to give
you some comfort for the rest of your life. I should think the
sketch of the dome alone would do that. And then I feel the moment
you did not of necessity require it you would be able to sell as
many of your own as you would desire. Keep up good spirits.”
With love as ever,
MOTHER
The photograph of the original working sketch for the Dome Canopy saved
through the years in the trunk of Laurence Brumidi is clear and the
figures very distinct. This photograph no doubt was mounted for the
purpose of registry in the District, for beneath the picture is the
following printed notation:
“Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1866 by Constantino
Brumidi, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of
Columbia.”
On the back of this picture is an Internal Revenue stamp cancelled on
May 12, 1866. It was the original of this photograph, oil on canvas,
some thirty-six inches in diameter, which was among the Brumidi
paintings found in 1919 in Washington after being stored away for forty
years.
As we examine closely the characters portrayed on the small photograph
of Brumidi’s original working sketch for the Rotunda canopy, or on any
canopy photographs taken in the Rotunda, the figure of Columbia is
outstanding. Columbia is pictured as armed Liberty with “sword, shield,
and angry eagle driving out tyranny, pestilence and fear.” However, it
is the faded old clipping that Lola saved with the 1866 photograph that
adds the romantic luster to Columbia in this Dome Canopy design,
especially since we remember the exact words of Mildred Thompson: “Aunt
Lola always said she modeled for Freedom in the Dome Canopy.” The faded
clipping is quoted in full:
“Visitors to the Capitol who admire the beautiful decorative work to be
seen in the rotunda and in the corridors, especially on the Senate end
of the building, will find additional interest in the work of the artist
when they learn the source of his inspiration for many of the female
figures that appear in the designs.
“The aged artist, Brumidi, whose brush did most of the most beautiful of
the decorative work of the Capitol, married in Washington, D. C., Miss
Lola Germon, a young lady well known for her beauty, which has been
perpetuated in many of the paintings executed by her husband. Features a
little too well rounded to be thoroughly classic, black hair, a fair
complexion and blue eyes, together with a shapely form, were the
characteristics of Mrs. Brumidi. She was greatly admired not only for
her beauty of person, but for her qualities of mind, which made her a
general favorite in that city. One of the figures in the ceiling of the
rotunda is said to be an exact likeness of the artist’s beautiful wife,
while most of the figures he painted in the Capitol portray some of her
characteristics.”
The old Bible given to Mr. Brumidi by the American Bible Society in 1852
when the artist landed in New York no doubt was originally saved by Lola
Germon for her son Laurence. On the inside front cover are these words
written in the C. Brumidi hand:
“Constantino Brumidi from Rome, Italy, arrived in New York, America, the
18th of September, 1852. Presented to me by the American Bible Society.”
The only other writing in the Bible is the following on a blank page for
births--also in the C. Brumidi hand:
Constantino Brumidi born in Rome, July 26th, 1805, by Stauro
Brumidi of Shiliatra, province of Arcadia in the Peloponnesus
(Greece) and Ann Bianchini of Rome.
Daughter, Maria Elena Brumidi born in Rome the 15th of August 1832.
Sons, Joseph Brumidi, born in Rome, 17th January, 1842; Laurence S.
Brumidi born in Washington, D. C. (America) May 12th 1861.