Jim Butcher (American, B. 1944) "American Flag over Supreme Court" Signed and dated (1981) lower right. Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board.

Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.

This painting was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 20c Flag Over Supreme Court stamp issued December 17, 1981.

The Supreme Court of the United States is a landmark well known to the American people. The highest tribunals of most other nations were created to settle disputes and points of law -- but this one, as it has evolved, can rule on the law itself, striking down Presidential directives and acts of Congress, upholding rights guaranteed by law, even interpreting the constitution. The Supreme Court has known many homes -- second-floor rooms over an open-air marketplace in New York, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, even private homes in Washington while the Capitol's old north wing took shape. The Court even shared the Capitol with the Senate and House from 1801 to 1935. Today, behind its magnificent pillared portico, the Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices meet to uphold the motto blazoned on its pediment: "Equal Justice Under Law." Visitors may tour the building, admire a pair of magnificent five-story elliptical spiral staircases, and view the historic cornerstone laid by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes in 1932. "The Republic endures," he said, "and this is the symbol of its faith." The Supreme Court has been called the nation's conscience and the National Archives its memory. In a muraled rotunda visitors may peer at hallowed charters of freedom: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, seated in helium under special glass and filters. And at closing time -- and if danger looms -- the documents are lowered, cases and all, into a vault twenty feet below.

Image Size: 16 x 14 in.
Overall Size: 20.5 x 16.75 in.
Unframed.
(B06229)

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20.5 x 16.75 in