Door

Delicate climbing roses, grapes, and acorn studded-oak leaves are some of the details that bring life and movement to these masterfully crafted iron vestibule doors. They are part of a small group of surviving ironwork that once adorned the McNair residence on 5 East 79th Street in New York. Socialite Elvira Brokaw McNair commissioned architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle to design the home in 1915. The spectacular iron fixtures, credited as embodying “all things that can be done with iron” by architectural reviews at the time (Boyd 1917, 402), were crafted by Samuel Yellin, one of the most notable, original, and virtuosic American ironsmiths of the twentieth century.

Yellin emigrated from Mohyliv Podilskyi, once part of the Russian Empire and now part of Ukraine, in 1900. A few years later, in 1909, he established a workshop in Philadelphia. Overseeing 200 skilled craftsmen at the height of his business, Yellin’s shop produced finely wrought iron ranging from gates, grilles, hinges, and railings to decorative objects. He was patronized by both public and private clients throughout the country, including Henry Clay Frick, Edsel Ford, Yale University, the Federal Reserve Bank, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.


Yellin looked to the past for inspiration. While much of his work referenced Medieval and Renaissance sources, the window grilles, front door, lamp brackets, and grand stair rail that ornamented the interior and exterior of the McNair residence drew inspiration from later European metalwork, particularly 18th century French examples.


These doors, which led from the entrance vestibule to a spacious marble-tiled hall, exemplify Yellin’s masterful technical skills and artistic vision as well as the close collaboration between architect and ironsmith. Yellin described Magonigle as the only architect who truly appreciated his craft, and the architect told Yellin that he wanted to “have my house serve as the background for your work (McCormick 1922, 434).” The restrained, almost austere design of the residence allowed the ironwork to shine as “the climax of the whole house (Boyd 1917, 402).”

References Cited:
Boyd, Jr., John Taylor. 1917. “Residence of William McNair, Esq. New York, H. Van Buren Magonigle, Architect.” The Architectural Record XLI (5): 387-402.
McCormick, William B. 1922. “Samuel Yellin: Artist in Iron.” The International Studio LXXV (303): 431-434.