Firescreen
John La Farge American
According to family tradition, John La Farge composed this panel in 1884 as a tenth wedding anniversary present for his close friends Richard Watson Gilder (1844-1909) and his student, Helena de Kay (1846-1916), a painter. A wreath encircling their initials and the year 1874 inscribed in gold commemorate their marriage. It originally functioned as a window in an inglenook in the Gilders' home and his wife's studio, at 103 East Fifteenth Street. About 1890, Stanford White (1853-1906), a member of the Gilders' artistic circle, remodeled the house, removed the panel from its architectural setting, and refitted it as a freestanding fire screen. The use of opalescent glass and delicate glass jewels is characteristic of the early work of La Farge.
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