Constantino Brumidi (Modeled 1967, Carved 1967) by JIMILU mason

In 1966, following renewed appreciation of Brumidi’s work with the publication of a biography by Myrtle Cheney Murdock, the wife of a congressman, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives authorized creation of a portrait bust honoring the artist. The legislation directed the Joint Committee on the Library to acquire a bust for display in the Brumidi Corridors. Sculptor JIMILU mason was awarded the commission in early 1967; she based her likeness of Brumidi on photographs taken during his life. The Joint Committee approved the plaster model, and the image was translated into Carrara marble in Pietrasanta, Italy. JIMILU’s bust of Brumidi was unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda in 1968 at dedication ceremonies attended by congressional leaders and the ambassadors of Italy and Greece.

JIMILU, of Alexandria, Virginia, is known for her portrait and figurative sculptures. Her mother, Rose d’Amore Mason, was of Italian heritage, a legacy that spurred JIMILU’s interest in obtaining the Brumidi commission. Her father was former Federal Trade Commissioner Lowell B. Mason. JIMILU mason’s other works include busts of Chief Justice Frederick M. Vinson in the U.S. Supreme Court Building; Speaker Samuel Rayburn at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; John F. Kennedy at the North Carolina Museum of Art; and several busts of Lyndon B. Johnson, including one in the U.S. Senate Collection (p. xxx). Her bronze sculpture of the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil occupies a place of honor in the town square of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.