The Declaration

The National Archives Building’s architect, John Russell Pope, designated space for two large murals in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. These oil-on-canvas paintings were painted by artist Barry Faulkner in 1935–36. Faulkner created allegorical (symbolic or metaphorical) scenes depicting the writing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. These large murals, each about the size of a city bus (14 x 37.5 feet or 4.27 x 11.43 metres), add life and color to the space.

The mural depicts, front row from left to right, 1-20 then back row from left to right 21-28:
1. Robert Morris, Pennsylvania
2. Samuel Chase, Maryland
3. Charles Carroll, Maryland
4. Stephen Hopkins, Rhode Island
5. Samuel Adams, Massachusetts
6. Thomas McKean, Delaware
7. John Dickinson, Pennsylvania
8. Abraham Clark, New Jersey
9. William Ellery, Rhode Island (head visible between Abraham Clark and John Witherspoon)
10. John Witherspoon, New Jersey
11. John Hancock, Massachusetts
12. Benjamin Harrison, Virginia
13. Samuel Huntington, Connecticut (in blue, holding a cloak over his arm)
14. Thomas Jefferson, Virginia
15. Roger Sherman, Connecticut
16. John Adams, Massachusetts
17. Robert R. Livingston, New York
18. Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania
19. Richard Henry Lee, Virginia (back to the painter, facing left)
20. Thomas Nelson, Jr., Virginia
Back Row
21. Joseph Hewes, North Carolina (next to the building, in blue coat, holding a hat in both hands)
22. Edward Rutledge, South Carolina
23. Lyman Hall, Georgia (head visible over the shoulder of Josiah Bartlett)
24. Josiah Bartlett, New Hampshire
25. Thomas Stone, Maryland
26. Francis Hopkinson, New Jersey (leaning against the left side of the pillar)
27. George Wythe, Virginia
28. William Floyd, New York (on the steps, holding a cane)

Photo of the mural of the Declaration of Independence, photo taken by Jeff Reed.