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Distinguished architectural photographer Carol M. Highsmith has turned her lens on the Library of Congress. In more than 400 color digital images, Highsmith has captured both the artistry and symbolism of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, from the floor of the Great Hall to the dome of the Main Reading Room. These images and others can be found online at //memory.loc.gov/pp/highsmhtml/highsmabt.html.

Looking at Highsmith’s sharply detailed photographs is an amazing experience,” said C. Ford Peatross, director of the Library’s Center for Architecture, Design and Engineering. “She is able to reveal new information about a building that I’ve studied for years.”

Columns on the second floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building’s Great Hall, with natural light streaming into the beautiful space.  Expand image	A section of the great collar of the dome by Edwin H. Blashfield in the Main Reading Room.  Expand image	The putti representing Asia and Europe who sit on a buttress cap on the Grand staircase by Philip Martiny in the Great Hall.  Expand image
Robert Reid’s mural depicting Philosophy is on the south wall on the second floor of the Great Hall.  Expand image	A marble capital in the southeast corner of the second floor of the Great Hall.  Expand image	A corner cove shows the rich decoration of the ceiling of the Great Hall. Aristotle is one of 10 great authors inscribed on the vaulted coves.  Expand image
Two graceful bronze statues of women raising their lamps to illuminate the Great Hall in all its splendor. Set into the ceiling, 75 feet above the floor in front of the Commemorative Arch, is an ornate six-paneled stained-glass skylight rendered in blue and yellow.  Expand image

All photographs in story by Carol M. Highsmith.

Her recent donation of these photographs will help visitors better understand the Library’s mission to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. The images also will highlight the features of the ornate Jefferson Building, which opened in 1897. Highsmith worked at all hours—day and night—during 2006 and 2007 to obtain the best lighting possible, often perched
on a tall lift to reach the many mosaics and murals in order to “do justice to the
building and the institution that I love.”

Using the latest technology and the finest professional digital camera equipment to scan, store and print her images, Highsmith also has photographed the Library’s James Madison Building and its John Adams Building. The 75 images of those buildings will be placed online at a later date.

Highsmith, who has documented American life and architecture for more than 30 years, began donating her archives to the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress in 1992. The collection is expected to grow to more than 100,000 photographs covering all of the United States. Highsmith has generously dedicated the
rights for these photographs to the American people, thereby providing copyright-free access to her images and making her archive an even more special visual resource.

Back to December 2007 - Vol. 66, No. 12