The gallery is framed by two large murals over its doorways, The Arts mural and The Sciences mural both by Kenyon Cox (1856–1919).

The ceiling, twenty nine feet high with square coffers in blue and gold, is divided by ribs that spring from the paired pilasters. The medallions with the letters “C.L.” stand for “Congressional Library,” the name by which the Library of Congress was still popularly known when the new building was first opened in 1897.

Photography by Carol M. Highsmith.