The city plan of Washington, DC – with its radiating avenues and circles overlaying a grid pattern of right angled streets – presents daily challenges to visitors and residents alike as they navigate between the monuments and buildings that symbolize our national capitol.

But the circles, squares, angles, and architecture in the Federal city hold a far deeper symbolism for a small fraternity of men present from the time Washington began to rise from the tidal swamps and wooded hills lying along the banks of the Potomac.

The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry and the Architecture of Washington, DC, With Paintings by Peter Waddell explores the Masonic ideals and designs implicit in the fabric of the city. From the republican ideals made manifest in stone, to the carefully defined vistas linking famous heroes who were also Freemasons, an intriguing architectural and historical perspective is demonstrated by combining artist Peter Waddell’s paintings with seldom Masonic artifacts.

From the Introduction of the exhibition brochure written by Paul Dolinsky and George Reader

  • An Auspicious Day, 48″ x 36″, oil on canvas
  • Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, 36″ x 24″, oil on canvas
  • From These Ashes, oil on canvas
  • Building the Temple Within, 62″ x 42″, oil on canvas
  • A Venue of Liberation, 20″ x 30″, oil on canvas
  • The Light of Reason, 30″ x 40″, oil on canvas
  • Within These Walls, 36″ x 40″, oil on canvas
  • Fiat Lux, 32″ x 80″, oil on canvas
  • A View to the Future, 30″ x 68″, oil on canvas
  • A Vision Unfolds, 36″ x 48″, oil on canvas
  • A Meeting at the End of the Day, 36″ x 60″, oil on canvas
  • The Age of Reason Made Manifest, 36″ x 60″, oil on canvas
  • The Lamp of Knowledge, 40″ x 42″, oil on canvas
  • Journey Into Light, 60″ x 60″, oil on canvas
  • Centerpiece of the New Republic, 36″ x 36″, oil on canvas
  • Equality In Initiation, 31″ x 38″, oil on canvas
  • First Light of Morning, 28″ x 22″, oil on canvas
  • The Cornerstone of the Nation, 50″ x 56″, oil on canvas
  • The Triumph of Justice, 24″ x 24″, oil on canvas
  • The Good of Masonry Entirely At Heart, 30″ x 36″, oil on canvas
  • Laying Down the Working Tools, 36″ x 24″, oil on canvas