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The Cathedrals of Wall Street, 1939
Florine Stettheimer (American, 18711944)
Oil on canvas; 60 x 50 in. (152.4 x 127 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Gift of Ettie Stettheimer, 1953 (53.24.2)

Patriotic Citizens

Although references to American patriotism are evident throughout the four Cathedrals, The Cathedrals of Wall Street goes the farthest in depicting the astounding degree of patriotism in the 1930s and its close association with capitalism. In this painting, the "Cathedral" is the New York Stock Exchange and it commands the center of the composition. An image of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presides over a patriotic ceremony, which is attended by his wife, Eleanor (in blue), uniformed soldiers, dignitaries, a military band, a Native American figure dressed in a headdress and gold-fringed jacket, Salvation Army workers, and the like. The artist inscribes (in the lower right corner) a gift of flowers to George Washington, whose enormous gold likeness dominates the right side of the painting. The artist borrowed many of these images, including the gold Washington statue and the Native American figure, from the decorations of the New York's World Fair of 1939–40.

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