St. Bartholomew's Church Doors, North Portal, (sculpture).

St. Bartholomew's Church Doors, North Portal, (sculpture).

Adams, Herbert, 1858-1945, sculptor.

White, Stanford, 1853-1906, architect.

Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor, 1869-1924, architect.

McKim, Mead & White, architectural firm.

St. Bartholomew's Church Doors, North Portal, (sculpture).

Vanderbilt Memorial Panel, (sculpture).

Cornelius Vanderbilt Memorial Doors, (sculpture).

Vanderbilt Memorial Portal: Tympanum: Madonna and Child with Angels, (sculpture).

1898. Installed 1904-1905. Relocated 1918.

Digital Reference:

Doors: bronze; Arches: limestone; Columns: Cippolino marble; Panels: Egyptian porphyry.

Doors: approx. H. 12 ft. W. 6 ft.

(Inscribed at bottom left valve:) ENTER INTO HIS GATES/WITH THANKSGIVING (Inscribed at bottom right valve:) AND INTO HIS COVRTS/WITH PRAISE:PSALMS.C.IV

The bronze doors are designed with three sets of two horizontal panels which are decorated with figures of the apostles and evangelists in the center panels and scenes from the New Testament on the upper and lower panels: Upper panel scenes--the Transfiguration (left) and Paul on the road to Damascus (right); Center panels--St. Peter and St. Andrew (left) and St. Barnabas and Saul (right); Lower panel scenes--St. Peter addressing the centurion's family (left) and the conversion of Lydia by Paul at Philippi (right). The semi-circular tympanum (also by Adams) over the north doors contains the marble figures of the Christ child and his mother, with angels on either side. Below this is a frieze depicting a Crucifixion scene which illustrates the disciples carrying the body of Jesus to the burial place.

Religion -- New Testament -- Transfiguration

Religion -- Saint -- St. Paul

Religion -- Saint -- St. Peter

Religion -- Saint -- St. Andrew

Religion -- Saint -- St. Barnabas

Religion -- New Testament -- Saul

Religion -- New Testament -- Lydia

Religion -- New Testament -- Christ

Religion -- New Testament -- Mary

Religion -- New Testament -- Crucifixion

Architectural component

Outdoor Sculpture -- New York -- New York

St. Bartholomew's, 109 East 50th Street, North portal of entrance, New York, New York 10022

Formerly located St. Bartholomew's Church, Madison Avenue & 44th Street, North portal of entrance, New York, New York 1904-1918.

The triple portal entrance to St. Bartholomew's was designed by Stanford White, as a memorial to Cornelius Vanderbilt, and was first installed on St. Bartholomew's Church in 1904 when the church was located at its previous site on Madison Avenue and 44th Street. Herbert Adams created the north portal's bronze doors as well as the tympanum and frieze over the north doors. In 1918, when Bertram Goodhue designed the new St. Bartholomew's on 50th Street, he removed the Stanford White designed triple portal entrance and installed it on the new church. IAS files contain a church booklet which provides additional details about St. Bartholomew's architecture and sculpture.

Ambler, Louise Todd & Marilyn Gage Hyson, unpublished checklist, 2001-2003.

Gayle, Margot & Michele Cohen, "Guide to Manhattan's Outdoor Sculpture," New York: Prentice Hall, 1988, pg. 327.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New York, New York survey, 1993.

New York Times, June 22, 1902, pg. 9.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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