C-SPAN is streaming a recorded lecture on “The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the Library of Congress.” In this talk, originally presented for the United States Capitol Historical Society (USCHS) on October 13, 2020, art historian Lynda Cooper reconstructs the relationship between the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago and the Library of Congress’s Thomas Jefferson Building (1889–1897) in Washington, D.C.

Working from an art history perspective, Cooper describes the influence the exposition had on the artists and architects who designed and decorated the ornate Jefferson building. She offers an in-depth look at similarities among select mural paintings designed by three artists who contributed artwork to the Chicago exposition and then for the Jefferson Building, one of the earliest structures in the District of Columbia to be inspired by the 1893 World’s Fair.

Cooper focuses the first part of her presentation on Gari Melchers, who designed two lunette murals for the southwest pavilion entrance of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. She then explores contributions by William de Leftwich Dodge, who painted an enormous mural for the dome of the Administration Building [See our two-part article “Inside the Administration Building Dome: The Glorification of the Arts and Sciences by William Dodge.”] Her final section addresses artist Elihu Vedder, who designed a beautiful medal, struck in four types and awarded to the architects, department chiefs, directors, and executive committee members of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

Cooper’s lecture is a condensed version of her article of the same title published in the Spring-Summer 2020 issue of The Capitol Dome.

The Art of War by Gari Melchers, painted for the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [Image from Bancroft, Hubert Howe The Book of the Fair. The Bancroft Company, 1893.]

The Art of Peace by Gari Melchers, painted for the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [Image from Bancroft, Hubert Howe The Book of the Fair. The Bancroft Company, 1893.]