Renaissance Man
John La Farge (1835–1910) was a painter, muralist, illustrator, and stained glass designer—as well as an author and world traveler. Beginning in 1876, he created sumptuous interiors for his patrons' homes as well as murals and stained glass for churches and other public buildings.
This intricate panel (shown below) incorporates the style of the classical past and that of the Italian Renaissance, both of which were touchstones of taste for the Gilded Age. Originally, it was one of several panels for the lavish dining room ceiling in the New York mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. John La Farge designed the interior of the house, including this panel. Augustus Saint-Gaudens carved the figures and made the central head of Apollo, which was cast in La Farge's New York studio.
To see more artist's portraits, visit the Juley Collection online. Also, check out our traveling exhibition The Gilded Age: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, now on view at the Philbrook Museum of Art, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With about sixty artworks, including Apollo and Cupids, The Gilded Age captures the brilliance of turn-of-the-century society and a new current of sophistication in America.
Pictured top: Portrait of John La Farge,1835–1910, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Peter A. Juley & Son Collection.
Source: Richard Murray. The Gilded Age: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1999).
Pictured bottom: John La Farge, 1835–1910 and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1848 Ireland–1907 USA, Apollo with Cupids, 1880–82, banded African mahogany, repoussČ bronze, colored marbles, mother-of-pearl, abalone shell, and ivory relief, 27 3/4 x 63 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of James Maroney and museum purchase.