MORRISON HECKSCHER: Angels walk, dance, or climb on heavenly clouds across the choir rail and up the stairs of this pulpit. They play musical instruments or carry symbolic attributes. At the pinnacle, on the oak sounding-board, a triumphant angel with open wings trumpets in praise of God. Notice the scowling bearded man that supports the column under the pulpit section. It is Moses holding the Tablet of the Law, the 10 commandments. The sculptor Karl Bitter studied in his native Vienna, and came to the United States in 1889. Eleven years later, he completed this pulpit and choir rail for All Angels’ Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where it remained until the building was demolished in 1978. On your way out of the Museum, you may want to look at the exterior ornamentation of the façade of the building. Several of the images you will see are also by Bitter, who specialized in architectural sculpture. They include four caryatids, the name given to female figures that serve as columns. Bitter’s caryatids represent the arts of painting, sculpture, architecture, and music. You will also find six roundels carved by Bitter. These depict some of the great European artists of the past--Bramante, Durer, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt, and Velázquez.