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The Cathedrals of Fifth Avenue

1931
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 910
Turning her gaze to Fifth Avenue, Stettheimer treats the spectacles of high society and consumerism with affectionate humor. A newly wedded couple emerges from a church, ready to begin a life of excess and acquisition. Floating above them are the names of New York’s most exclusive shops and food establishments; "Tiffany’s" is spelled out in jeweled letters, and "Altman’s" is shaped from fine home furnishings. At right, Stettheimer and her sisters exit a limousine near Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s gilded Sherman Monument. Like the other three paintings in the series (see MMA 53.24.1, 53.24.2, and 53.24.3), a gilded frame of the artist’s design surrounds the canvas.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Cathedrals of Fifth Avenue
  • Artist: Florine Stettheimer (American, Rochester, New York 1871–1944 New York, New York)
  • Date: 1931
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 60 × 50 in. (152.4 × 127 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Ettie Stettheimer, 1953
  • Object Number: 53.24.4
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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The Cathedrals of Art, Florine Stettheimer American, Oil on canvas
The Cathedrals of Art
Florine Stettheimer
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The Cathedrals of Broadway, Florine Stettheimer American, Oil on canvas
The Cathedrals of Broadway
Florine Stettheimer
1929
The Cathedrals of Wall Street, Florine Stettheimer American, Oil on canvas
The Cathedrals of Wall Street
Florine Stettheimer
1939
Henry McBride on Winslow Homer
Florine Stettheimer
ca. 1924
Black Abstraction, Georgia O'Keeffe American, Oil on canvas
Black Abstraction
Georgia O'Keeffe
1927

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