My one ambition and my daily prayer is that I may live long enough to make beautiful the Capitol of the one country on earth in which there is liberty. It is significant that this quotation. the only direct quotation ever attributed to Brumidi. expresses his deep pride and profound love for America. Brumidi was a political refugee from Italy who brought his career to an abrupt halt when he vowed he would not paint another stroke until he had found liberty. In 1852. at the age. of 47. he sailed for the United States. and here he found the freedom he had sought for so long.. In 1857 he became a bitizen of the country he had adopted and which he -loved so well.