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The Cathedrals of Broadway, 1929
Florine Stettheimer (American, 18711944)
Oil on canvas; 60 1/8 x 50 1/8 in. (152.7 x 127.3 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Gift of Ettie Stettheimer, 1953 (53.24.3)

Tribute to the World of Spectacle

Stettheimer represents the panorama of entertainment—from classical music to professional sports—available in New York City. The composition of The Cathedrals of Broadway is organized around theater architecture: a proscenium arch from the Paramount theater welcomes you, along with an elegant doorman who directs you to the ticket counter, and a mysterious golden statue that reminds you to be quiet in preparation for the opening curtain. To the left of the arch stand the impatient spectators who demand entrance. In the upper background colored lights illuminate the marquees of the city's most famous theaters and cinemas while various talents from music, dance, and even ice-skating perform under the arch. Smack in the center of this riot of color and lights, the artist included an image of the mayor Jimmy Walker throwing the first pitch of the baseball season, pictured as if he were featured in a black–and–white newsreel at the cinema.

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