Chapter C: Brumidi

The other letter of interest about a member of Brumidi’s family found in the Brumidi file at the Capitol was written from Paris, France, April 4, 1894, and is signed “Laurence S. Brumidi.” Laurence is the boy to whom Senator Morrill referred in his Senate speech on February 24, 1880, as the “adopted son” of Brumidi. This letter from Laurence to the Architect of the Capitol leads us to believe that Laurence is the artist’s own son. The letter is quoted in full as it is the only original document in the Brumidi file throwing any light on the American born son of the artist:

“It may seem strange after so many years’ silence I recall myself
to you. Necessity compels me to claim not only your remembrance,
but also your favorable attention. First, I will offer for
consideration my petition then my reasons for making it. I have in
my possession a portrait of my father, also a sketch of the Dome,
“The Apotheosis of Washington.” These I would gladly sell to the
Government or Corcoran Art Gallery for one thousand dollars.

“Only a pressing need could cause me to offer these precious
souvenirs of my father for sale. But the moment has arrived when
all must be sacrificed in order to assure future prosperity. Now
the last four years have been spent in Paris pursuing my studies in
the art chosen when I little knew the sacrifices required by it.

“I have exposed in the Paris Salon for several years and this year
have been promised an honor, and my picture will be reproduced in a
number of illustrated art publications.

“By this you will perceive that could I pursue the route now open
to me for another year I could grasp the fortune offered by
success. Unfortunately I find myself quite exhausted by these last
efforts and today without funds.

“If the souvenir of my father’s friendship for you will aid my
cause I invoke that souvenir knowing that a kindness to his son
would be the happiest return for his esteem and friendship.

“If instead of purchasing the pictures in question you could give
me some work to execute here and bring home with me next year, that
would be more agreeable providing I could thereby obtain some money
immediately. I can very easily execute any commission you care to
give me.

“Trusting that this application made at the last moment and after
years of hard effort will meet your approval and bring the desired
aid so urgently required.”

LAURENCE BRUMIDI

Lola Germon is responsible for the early preservation of this little sketch of Brumidi’s nine beautiful maidens. It was a gift to Mrs. Ashmun Brown from her Aunt Lola. These maidens as painted in fresco on the ceiling of the District of Columbia Committee Room of the Senate are reproduced elsewhere in this book. This working sketch has had tender care, the colors being as softly beautiful today as those in the ceiling fresco itself.]

This letter from Laurence S. Brumidi stirs many a question but the next truth uncovered about Laurence Brumidi left only silent years following the letter from Paris. Laurence was admitted to St. Elizabeth’s asylum in Washington, D. C., on May 26, 1916, and, according to the St. Elizabeth records, he died there on November 9, 1920, at the age of fifty-four.

Since the birth records at the Vital Statistics Bureau of the District of Columbia go back only as far as 1872, it has been impossible to find a record of the birth of Laurence. The District Records in the Marriage License Bureau of the Muncipal Court in Washington do not record a marriage for Mr. Brumidi in the early 1860’s. The marriage, of course, could have taken place in any nearby city.

In 1879 Mr. Brumidi made a Will which was filed, but not probated. In this Will, a copy of which follows, the artist referred to Laurence as “my boy,” bequeathed to him all of his “estate and property, real and personal” and made no mention of Laurence’s mother or of his half-sister, Elena, in Italy:

Washington, D. C., June 27, 1879 “In the name of God, Amen,

“I, Constantino Brumidi, of No. 921 G. Street, Washington, D. C.,
make this my last will.

“I give, devise and bequeath all my estate and property, real and
personal, to my boy, named, called and known by the name of
Laurence S. Brumidi, as follows, that is to say:

“All engravings, works of art, paintings and apparatus pertaining
thereto that I now or may hereafter possess; all designs or
sketches and tracings for the frieze of the Capitol of the United
States and any other purpose; my gold watch and chain, bookcase,
library and all objects and things in my room; all money that I
have in possession, or that may be due me at the time of my demise,
from the United States government or any other source.

“These things and any or all property, real and personal, that I
may now have or may hereafter possess do I convey to said Laurence
S. Brumidi, to be enjoyed by him, his heirs or assigns, forever,
free from all claim or claims of any, every and all persons,
whomsoever, claiming or to claim the same or any part thereof, by,
under or through me or any of my heirs.

“I appoint Robert Mason of Washington, D. C., my executor, who
shall receive no reward.”

CONSTANTINO BRUMIDI

This Will of Constantino Brumidi was brought to light in Washington in 1919 when a lengthy article appeared in the Washington Sunday Star of November 2, entitled:

“_Brumidi Paintings Found in Washington
After a Search of Forty Years._”

It seems that in 1919, The National Savings and Trust Company, on New York Avenue, about a block from the White House, found in their storage vault two large boxes containing twenty-four Brumidi paintings including a sketch of the Dome canopy--a circular canvas upon which was painted the design for the ceiling of the Dome. When and by whom these boxes were stored will probably never be known but it is entirely possible that they were packed away in the early years after having been willed to Laurence Brumidi.

The newspaper article for November 2, 1919, quotes the accumulated storage charges as $300. It states also that “the packing evidently was done by Brumidi himself because they were arranged so expertly as to sustain no damage whatever.”

The boxes were opened by Court Order by Mr. Edward P. Schwartz who was named executor of the 1879 Brumidi will, and also “named committeeman by the Court” for Laurence who had been committed to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

All of these Brumidi paintings found in 1919 are reported to have been sold at auction, including two large portraits of Lola Germon, Brumidi’s American-born wife and the mother of Laurence. The Sunday Star, in the above-mentioned article, reproduced the portrait of Lola and commented upon her beauty as well as upon her likeness to many of the Madonnas in the Capitol frescoes.

Charles E. Fairman, art curator of the Capitol, was present at the time these storage boxes were opened and has left a list of the contents of each box. He records a total of twenty-four paintings. Fairman also makes mention of the two portraits of Lola Germon in heavy gold, oval-shaped frames. But no one connected with the Capitol Building, so far as I have been able to learn, made a bid for any of the stored Brumidi paintings.

I have found, however, that two letters are on file from Mr. Edward P. Schwartz to Capitol authorities giving detailed information concerning the stored paintings. The Schwartz letter dated October 21, 1919, follows:

“Sometime ago I was made Executor under the Will of Mrs. Lola V. Kirkwood, who was the widow of Constantino Brumidi, the artist who devoted more than 25 years of his life to the beautification of the Capitol. Mr. Brumidi has a son who is now in the Insane Asylum and under Mr. Brumidi’s Will, which was filed and never probated, he left all of his etchings of the Capitol and designs, etc., together with other paintings to his son. The Court appointed me Committeeman of this son with instructions to examine the several boxes that have been in storage for over thirty years and have their contents appraised and report to the Court. If you are interested, call by my office and we will go over and have these boxes opened to see what they contain as you may be able to make some suggestion as to their disposal.”

On February 21, 1920, Mr. Schwartz wrote again to the Capitol, this time to the Joint Committee on the Library:

“I am sending herewith enclosed an item in the Sunday’s Star entitled ‘Brumidi Paintings found in Washington after a Search of Forty Years.’ You will notice that these paintings are the original, or the copies from which Brumidi decorated the Capitol. Among the twenty-seven oil paintings of various sizes belonging to the estate of Brumidi, of which I am the Executor and Committeeman for his son, Laurence S. Brumidi, who is now in St. Elizabeth’s Asylum for the insane, there is one worthy of consideration, and that is the original oil painting of the Rotunda of the Capitol which I have in storage and is in excellent condition. This miniature is in oil, about 35 inches in diameter from which, no doubt, he copied his wonderful Rotunda painting. It is quite an education and shows the process of making a great picture. There are quite a number of his paintings in the collection, and I was wondering if the Committee on the Library would be sufficiently interested to confer with the object of offering a suggestion as to the final disposition of these paintings. It is my judgment they should be in the Capitol, as they are all, I believe, originals, and the only ones existing.... Personally, I would like to see these paintings in the Capitol.”

Mr. Fairman has left the following memorandum, dated October 22, 1919, in the Capitol files referring to the information from Mr. Schwartz: “Called on Edward P. Schwartz at 734 Fifteenth Street, N. W., in relation to attached letter. Mr. Schwartz showed me a copy of the Will of Constantino Brumidi, executed at 921 G Street, N. W., June 27, 1879, in which he appoints Robert Mason of Washington, D. C., his executor. The Will is witnessed by Wm. H. Appleton, A. H. Whittaker, Martha Dent, and Robert Mason. I made a copy of one section of the Will. While the entire Will is in favor of Laurence S. Brumidi, this paragraph seems to be the only one in which this office is interested:

“‘All engravings, works of art, paintings, and apparatus pertaining thereto ... all designs, sketches and tracings for the frieze of the Capitol of the U. S.’

“Mr. Schwartz also showed me his authority as Committeeman for Laurence S. Brumidi (insane) and stated that he was also the executor of the Will of Lola V. Kirkwood, former wife of Constantino Brumidi, that Mrs. Kirkwood married a second time one Kirkwood an Army officer, that he had searched for the boxes referred to in his letter and finally found them in storage at the National Savings and Trust Co., corner of N. Y. Ave. & 15th St., where they had been for over thirty years, and on which he had paid storage for that period amounting to about $386. He further stated that Mrs. Kirkwood and Laurence S. Brumidi had forgotten where the two boxes were stored. He will fix a date for opening the boxes and phone me so that I can be present and see the contents of the boxes.”

On January 16, 1925, the Capitol authorities were again informed concerning the pending auction of these Brumidi originals, this time by a newspaper correspondent living in Washington. His name was Ashmun Brown and this is what he wrote:

“It may interest you to know that a considerable collection of the paintings of Brumidi, the fresco artist, is to be sold at auction at Sloane’s Gallery, on January 28th and 29th, by order of the Probate Court incident to the settlement of the estates of his widow and son. The pictures are to be open to inspection at Sloane’s on January 25th-28th. While I have never seen this collection, I understand that it contains several of Brumidi’s original studies for frescoes which now adorn the walls of the Capitol. I am told that at one time a valuation of about $20,000 was placed on this collection. However, when it was offered for sale at auction several months ago, the highest bid obtained was only $800. So at the insistence of the heirs another offering has been ordered. It occurred to me that you might be interested in the matter.”

Brumidiana Outside the United States Capitol

Reference by Charles E. Fairman to two portraits of Lola Germon painted by Brumidi and preserved in heavy gold frames that were finally sold at auction in the Capitol City of the United States in 1925 fired my interest anew in the American-born wife of Brumidi, the beautiful girl who is said to have modeled for many of the Madonnas painted on Capitol walls and ceilings. While searching for something tangible about Lola Germon I was led to an extensive inquiry as to Brumidi’s burial place.

BRUMIDI’S GRAVE

At the very point of giving up the quest for Brumidi’s grave I called all the old burial grounds in the District and asked that they search their records for a Brumidi burial in 1880. Glenwood Cemetery in Northeast Washington soon reported that Constantino Brumidi was recorded to have been buried there on February 21, 1880, in Lot 70, site 6.

On my first visit to the old section of Glenwood Cemetery I searched out Lot 70. It was surrounded by an iron fence bearing the name _Germon_, 1877, on a sagging gate. There was no marker on site 6, to indicate the burial place of Brumidi. It seemed clear to me that Lola Germon must have buried her artist husband in the old family burial plot since two small white stones, on sites 1 and 2 of Lot 70, evidently marked the burial places of Lola’s father and mother, the father having been buried there in 1855 and the mother some twenty years later.

As I looked upon Brumidi’s unmarked grave, the unknown grave of the artist who spent his last twenty-five years decorating the Capitol Building of the United States, I decided that sometime I would paint the little white-washed iron fence around Lot 70 as my personal tribute to those twenty-five Brumidi years. Several years went by. It was the spring of 1946 before I began painting the iron fence.

On my first painting day, as I labored, weaving highly colored fiction about the beautiful American girl and the romantic old artist, three times her age, I was startled by a young voice directly behind me which excitedly asked, “Why are you painting the fence around this Cemetery Lot?”

I turned to find a lovely girl watching my efforts with deep concern. I was so startled as to be unable to give any logical reason for painting an old fence partly hidden by poison ivy in the oldest corner of an old cemetery, so I asked the young visitor this question, “Why are you interested?” She replied quickly and firmly, “I have a right to know.”

Soon I found myself telling this girl the whole story of Brumidi and his unmarked burial place. She listened with an unbelievable concern and then launched forth with a story of her own that so far outmatched mine as to appear at first a bit of imaginative make-believe. Said she:

“All my life I have heard my people talk about this artist, Brumidi, and it seems that I have always known he was buried inside this little iron fence. His unmarked grave has had a strange fascination for me, ever since childhood. Every time I pass the cemetery in a street car I look over at this little iron fence on the hillside and think about this forgotten grave that means so much to me.

“As I was riding past today, wondering if I would forever be the only one interested in the lonesome little Brumidi fence, I suddenly thought I saw a woman painting that very fence. I kept telling myself it was not true, that I must have imagined such an unheard-of thing, and all the time my street car carried me farther and farther away. Finally, unable to stand the suspense any longer I got off the car, took a trolley back--and here I am--and there you are--,” and she stopped for breath.

Sensing my completely mystified expressions, she added, “You see, it was my great-grand aunt, Lola Germon, who modeled for the Capitol Madonnas and later married Brumidi.”

I went home with Lola Germon’s great-grandniece, Mildred Thompson, and met the Thompson family. Mildred’s mother slightly doubted my sanity for painting a cemetery fence belonging to a stranger but presently she laid before me a deed to the cemetery lot and a family album given to her by Lola Germon. Mrs. Thompson’s cemetery deed had been issued by Glenwood Cemetery to Eliza A. Germon, Lola’s mother, in 1866 and verified the cemetery records that show Brumidi as buried in Lot 70, site 6; Laurence Brumidi in site 4; and Lola Brumidi in site 5. (Only, Lola Germon Brumidi was Lola Virginia Kirkwood at the time of her death in 1918, and both she and her third husband, Edward Kirkwood, are buried in site 5.)

LOLA GERMON’S ALBUM

It was a great disappointment to me that the Thompson family knew so few facts about Lola and her artist husband, but by means of Lola’s album and by word of mouth they verified certain facts in my mind.

The grave site of Constantino Brumidi, in Glenwood Cemetery (Washington, D. C.) will soon bear a marker from the Government of the United States. In this picture, taken in early spring, we can locate the burial site of the Capitol artist in the immediate foreground, just inside the little iron fence, that being site 6 of Lot 70. Twin shafts on sites 1 and 2 within the fence mark the graves of Lola Germon’s parents. The deed to this lot, issued in 1866 to Eliza Germon, Lola’s mother, is now in the possession of Lola’s great-grandniece, Mildred Thompson, of Washington.]

They knew that Lola Germon had married Brumidi when she was about eighteen years old; that Laurence was their only son; that the beautiful Lola had modeled for many of the Capitol paintings; and that at one time, as Mrs. Brumidi, Lola attended a White House reception with her artist husband, in the most beautiful gown he could afford to buy.

The hallowed old album in which Lola had chosen to preserve her treasured Brumidi memories held many pictures of Brumidi, of Laurence, and of the young Lola, but for the most part all pictures were undated and unmarked--all, save one. On the back of a photograph of a very beautiful young girl (Lola Germon) were these words, written in a childish hand, “This is my lovely mama.”

Four small unmarked photographs on the last pages of the old album are of special interest since they are reproductions of religious paintings. It was my guess that they were photographs of Brumidi’s working sketches for church decorations--and to date two of these have been identified. The huge fresco over the main altar in St. Stephen’s Church in New York, some 70 feet in height, is the same “Crucifixion” as that in the little photograph in Lola’s album, and the large fresco over the main altar in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia is the same “Crucifixion” scene only with outstanding figures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at the foot of the cross.

MILDRED THOMPSON’S COLLECTION

Mildred Thompson, Lola Germon’s great-grandniece, later salvaged a packet of old letters and legal documents from Laurence Brumidi’s trunk now stored at the home of a relative, all of which helps to unravel the tangled Brumidi story.

A deed to certain Washington property dated November 19, 1864, and signed by Constantino Brumidi and wife, Lola V. Brumidi, is the earliest document found containing Lola’s signature. The latest document in this Thompson collection signed by Lola as Mrs. Brumidi is an indenture signed by both Constantino Brumidi and Lola V. Germon Brumidi borrowing $2,500 in 1870. The next document in point of time bearing Lola’s name in this collection is a letter written to Mrs. Lola V. Walsh, 911 G St., N. W., on March 22, 1879, by a Washington lawyer announcing that he had obtained a loan of $3,500 on the premises at 921 G St. (where the old artist later died) and stating that since the deed conveying the property to Lola was in his possession she could take charge of the property and begin her repairs at once.

Sometime, then, between 1870 and 1879 Lola was evidently divorced from the Italian artist and married to a Mr. Walsh. Tax receipts, insurance receipts, and interest statements in this same Thompson collection, signed by Lola and dated from 1880 to 1892 indicate that Lola V. Walsh married a Mr. Kirkwood sometime between August 31, 1891, and August 30, 1892, at which later date a fire insurance receipt bears the signature, Mrs. Lola V. Kirkwood.

The packet of documents from Laurence’s trunk contains also the following valued items:

(1) Two letters written by “C. Brumidi” to the Architect of the Capitol--one, dated August 26, 1876, and the other dated November 26, 1879, the latter being probably the last letter ever written by the artist to the Architect. These two letters were no doubt given to Laurence from the Brumidi file by Architect Clark himself. (2) Two letters written to C. Brumidi by Senator Morrill of Vermont--one, dated May 19th (probably 1865) and the other, dated June 20, 1878. (3) A

In the showing before you the artist and Lola focus attention to the upper half of the right-hand page. The lower half portrays Elena Brumidi, the artist’s daughter left behind in Italy, and the artist’s son, Laurence, the child of his American wife Lola, in Washington. On the left-hand page are pictures of four religious paintings. The upper two have been identified as photographs of working sketches for Brumidi paintings in St. Stephen’s Church, New York City, and the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, Philadelphia. The lower two have not been identified.]

business letter from a Washington lawyer to Laurence in Paris in 1893, forwarding to him certain papers to be signed which would ultimately give him $600 from his mother. (4) Laurence’s application in Washington for a loan of $5000 in August, 1895. (5) Consummation of that $5000 loan in September, 1895, by Laurence’s mother. (6) A letter from a London artist to Laurence in Washington in 1897 in which the Londoner wrote, “I hope you are increasing your bank account and that some day we will see you back again as I suppose you long to be. Now brace up. I don’t think you will ever be happy outside Paris or Italy.” (7) Two letters from Lola V. Kirkwood to Laurence in Washington in 1902. (8) A photograph of the original working sketch of the Dome Canopy. (9) An old clipping entitled “His Wife His Model.” (10) The Bible given to C. Brumidi by the American Bible Society when the artist landed in New York in 1852.

The two Brumidi letters kept through the years by Laurence will be quoted in full, as they are further proof that Brumidi was paid by the Government of the United States for his work on the Rotunda frieze designs during his last years even when confined by illness to his studio. Brumidi’s conscientious effort to make each day profitable to his government as well as to himself is also a part of the following letter:

Washington, D. C., August 26, 1876

“Martin mentioned to me that you wished my report for the month. I
lost two days, those consumed in traveling, the remainder of my
stay was spent working on the cartoons.

“Now I have completed the Treaty of William Penn and the Settlement
of New England, all ready for transfer in full size.

“With many thanks for your kindness and obligation.”

The following 1879 letter to Architect Clark is the only one found written by the artist himself after his almost fatal fall from the frieze on October 1, 1879:

“For answer to your desire for making the report of the time worked
in the present month of Nov. 1879, I can tell to have employed all
the working days in drawing the cartoons for the frieze now in
progress in the Rotunda of the Capitol, and having completed the
subject of Oglethorpe, and the Muskogee chief, with a portion of
the Insurrection of Lexington.

“I work sometime with difficulty when I am troubled by the asthma,
but after some rest I proceed with my work. I hope you will be very
kind in recommending my petition to the Honorable Committee.”