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September 7, 2022
Statues and Busts in the U.S. Capitol: Collections and
Authorities
The United States Capitol is home to hundreds of works of
Figure 1. Most Recent Additions to the National
art. Among them are a number of statues and busts,
Statuary Hall Collection: Amelia Earhart (KS) and
including the National Statuary Hall Collection and the
Mary McLeod Bethune (FL)
Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection, which account for
most of the statuary on display in the U.S. Capitol building.
These works of art arrive in the Capitol in different ways.
For many years, Congress vested authority to acquire and
place art in the Joint Committee on the Library (JCL).
Current law provides that the JCL may be involved in the
process of accepting future donations of art to Congress,
pursuant to authority granted in 1872, particularly with
regard to changes in the National Statuary Hall Collection,
discussed below. In addition to those authorities, in 1988,
Congress assigned responsibility to provide for works of
fine art and other property for display in the Capitol to the
Capitol Preservation Commission. Similar authorities were
granted to the House and Senate through the House of
Representatives Fine Arts Board, the Senate Commission
on Art, and the Senate Committee on Rules and
Administration for art in their office buildings and
respective wings of the Capitol.
National Statuary Hall Collection

Created in 1864, the National Statuary Hall Collection
Source: Architect of the Capitol.
contains two statues from each state. Under the law, the
Other Methods of Acquiring Statues
JCL maintains final approval over the design of these
statues. It is up to each individual state to choose who is
In addition to the established processes for the National
honored and to pay for the design, creation, and delivery of
Statuary Hall Collection and the Vice Presidential Bust
a new statue to Washington, DC, and removal of an
Collection, Congress also acquires statues and busts by
outgoing statue, which becomes the property of the state
commission or receives art by donation.
when it leaves the collection.
Figure 2. Bust of Vice President Henry Wilson
In 2000, states were authorized to replace statues in the
National Statuary Hall Collection. Nine states have replaced
a total of 10 statues. For a list of replaced statues, see CRS
Report R42812, National Statuary Hall Collection:
Background and Legislative Options. Figure 1 depicts the
most recent additions to the collection: Amelia Earhart,
from Kansas, and Mary McLeod Bethune, from Florida.
Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection
In 1885, the Senate authorized the acquisition of the first
vice presidential bust for Henry Wilson, who served as the
18th Vice President (1873-1875), shown in Figure 2. In
1886, the Senate authorized placement of marble busts of
each Vice President, in niches of the Senate chamber.

In 1947, oversight of the acquisition of vice presidential
Source: U.S. Senate, Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection.
busts was transferred from the Senate Committee on the
Library to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Commission Artwork
Each bust is acquired by the Architect of the Capitol, with
In some cases, Congress has chosen to commission, or
the committee’s approval.
purchase, artwork to commemorate an event or the
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Statues and Busts in the U.S. Capitol: Collections and Authorities
importance of an individual to the United States. For
Figure 4. Examples of Statues and Busts Donated to
example, in the 109th Congress (2005-2006), Congress
Congress
authorized the JCL to commission a statue of Rosa Parks
for placement in the Capitol (P.L. 109-116). The Rosa
Parks statue was installed and dedicated in 2013. Figure 3
shows the Rosa Parks statue located in National Statuary
Hall, although it is not part of the National Statuary Hall
Collection.
Figure 3. Rosa Parks Statue in the Capitol

Source: Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Campus Art,
Legislation, 117th Congress (2021-2022)
H.R. 8237, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act,
2023, provides for the removal of all Confederate statues
and busts from any publicly accessible area of the United
States Capitol. The bill also provides for the removal of a
bust of Roger Brooke Taney; and the statues of Charles
Brantley Aycock, John Caldwell Calhoun, and James Paul
Clarke. On June 24, 2022, H.R. 8237 was reported by the
House Appropriations Committee and placed on the Union
Calendar.
H.R. 3005, a bill “To direct the Joint Committee on the
Library to replace the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the
Old Supreme Court Chamber of the United States Capitol

Source: Architect of the Capitol,
with a bust of Thurgood Marshall to be obtained by the
Joint Committee on the Library and to remove certain
Donation of Artwork
statues from areas of the United States Capitol which are
accessible to the public, to remove all statues of individuals
Historically, Congress has accepted donated artwork for
who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America
display in the Capitol. To accept a work of art
from display in the United States Capitol, and for other
commissioned and paid for by a third-party entity, Congress
purposes,” was introduced by Representative Steny Hoyer
has historically passed legislation authorizing the
on May 5, 2021. The measure would require removal of the
acceptance of the work. Congress has accepted the
same items described in H.R. 8237, and the acquisition by
donations of numerous works of art. These works have been
the JCL of a bust of Thurgood Marshall to be placed in the
donated by various individuals and groups, including
Capitol’s Old Supreme Court Chamber. On June 29, 2021,
private citizens, social organizations, military organizations,
H.R. 3005 passed the House. On July 12, 2021, it was
and foreign governments. Figure 4 shows the following
received in the Senate and on May 24, 2022 was referred to
donations:
the committee on Rules and Administration.
 Statue of Ulysses S. Grant (1899; S.J.Res. 75, 51st
If enacted, H.R. 3005 or H.R. 8237 would require the
Congress);
removal of statues from the current National Statuary Hall

Collection that meet the legislation’s criteria.
Bust of Raoul Wallenberg—a Swedish citizen who
worked to save thousands of Hungarian Jews during
Recently, Congress authorized JCL to obtain statues of
World War II (1994; H.Con.Res. 222, 103rd Congress);
former Supreme Court Associate Justices Sandra Day
and
O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Architect of the

Capitol is authorized to permanently install the statues in
Bust of Sojourner Truth—an abolitionist and women’s
the Capitol or on Capitol Grounds (P.L. 117-111).
suffrage advocate who worked to end slavery and to aid
newly freed slaves following the Civil War (2006; P.L.
109-427).
Jacob R. Straus, Specialist on the Congress
R. Eric Petersen, Specialist in American National
Government
IF12209
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Statues and Busts in the U.S. Capitol: Collections and Authorities

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
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