Arthur E. Scott - Senate Work

Senate Work

Although the Capitol has been a subject of photography since 1846, the United States Congress's first forays into institutional photography did not take place for another century, when the political parties began hiring and paying their own photographers. In 1955, Arizona Republican Senator Barry Goldwater, himself an amateur photographer, hired Arthur Scott to work for the Republican Senatorial Committee. Thereafter, he worked in a variety of Republican offices, including the Republican Senatorial Committee (June 1955 to October 1962) and the Republican Policy Committee (October 1962 to November 1974). He snapped formal and informal poses of senators in committee, with constituents, with celebrities, and performing other senatorial duties. He also took many shots of the Capitol in every season and under various stages of reconstruction.

In 1975, the Senate created the Historical Office and commissioned it to collect, maintain, and make available items relating to the Senate's history. A key part of the office was to be a photo historian, who would build a collection of graphic representations of the Senate. In August 1975, Scott assumed the post of photo historian.