Liberty

The painting of the allegorical representation of Liberty, along with its companion piece Union, is by Italian-born artist Constantino Brumidi. After Brumidi completed The Apotheosis of Washington in the United States Capitol Rotunda in 1866, President Ulysses S. Grant commissioned the artist to create two paintings for display in the renovated Entrance Hall of the White House. Both were mounted in the ceiling and represent the post-Civil War resurgence and indivisibility of the Union. After being removed during the Benjamin Harrison administration, they were returned to the White House following rediscovery in 1978. Brumidi would continue his work in the Capitol until his death in 1880.