The Building of the Capitol displays the construction of Nebraska’s third and final Capitol building.
On the left, the second Capitol building is shown surrounded by orange, pink, and grey geometric figures representing the construction of the current Capitol around the old one while it was still standing. The blueprint is located in the top left of the Nebraska Capitol. The colorful center of the bottom represents the artwork found within the building. To the right, the building’s structural steel is shown going into the ground and up toward the sky. On the right, the sun rises up toward the dome of the building. At the top, there are inscriptions, one found in the rotunda of the Capitol and one from the Declaration of Independence.
Elements of the Capitol continued to be implemented in the 85 years following the completion of the construction
About Reinhold Piper Marxhausen
Reinhold Pieper Marxhausen was born in Vergas Minnesota in 1922. Marxhausen was a renowned artist who worked in painting, mosaics, sculpture, and found object art.
Marxhausen sold some paintings to a magazine by the Ford Motor Company called the Ford Times. The president of Concordia College in Seward, Nebraska was shown some of Marxhausen’s paintings in this magazine and wrote a letter to him to offer him a position to teach art and start the art department. He eventually took the job and worked there for 40 years.
Marxhausen won a contest to create two of the six remaining murals in the Nebraska State Capitol. Out of the four artists selected for the honor, he was the only one who lived in Nebraska.
