In 1909, Paul Wayland Bartlett was selected to design a pediment for the House of Representatives wing of the U.S. Capitol. Two Teams of Horses is a sketch model of one of his earlier designs for the sculpture. The four horses were to flank a chariot at the center of the pediment, in which rode a figure representing Peace. The horses were later rejected, and in the final sculpture the figure of Peaceful Democracy stands over a nude child representing Genius.