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

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

O'Connor, Andrew, Jr., 1874-1941, sculptor.

French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931, sculptor.

White, Stanford, 1853-1906, architect.

Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor, 1869-1924, architect.

McKim, Mead & White, architectural firm.

Jno. Williams, Inc., founder.

Roman Bronze Works, founder.

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

Cornelius Vanderbilt Memorial Doors, (sculpture).

1898. Installed 1904. Relocated 1918.

Digital Reference:

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

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 Annunciation (left) and the Adoration of the Magi (right); Center panels--St. Matthew and St. Luke (left) St. John and St. Mark (right); Lower panel scenes--the Descent from the Cross (left) and the Way of the Cross (right). On either side of the center panels are smaller figures of prophets--Jeremiah, Mehemiah, Isaiah, and Daniel; and above and below the center panels are figures of the sibyls and classic symbols of the Church--the owl of Desolation, the serpent of Sin, the dragon representing the Devil, the cock of Vigilance, the pelican of Atonement, the peacock of Immortality, the phoenix of the Resurrection, and the eagle representing the spread of the Gospel. The semi-circular tympanum over the center bronze doors contains scenes of the Apotheosis and the Coronation of Christ. Below this is a frieze representing the Crucifixion. Inscriptions of Messianic quotations appearing above and below the frieze.

On either side of the center bronze doors, between the three arches of the entrance portals, is a frieze which depicts scenes in the Old and New Testaments. To the left, or north side of the center doors, the frieze depicts scenes of the kings from the East, the flight into Egypt, the betrayal of Jesus, and St. John the Baptist. To the right, or south side of the center doors, the frieze depicts scenes of Adam and Eve, the expulsion from Eden, the murder of Abel, and the enslaved Israelites freed by Moses. Individual figures reside atop columns which flank the center doors --on the left, or north side, is Elijah and on the right, or south side, is Moses. Between the center portal and the north and south portals, in the recessed areas between the columns, are the figures of four prophets. From north to south they are: Isaiah with sword and book, Elijah with his chariot, Jeremiah holding his staff, and Moses with the Law on tables of stone.

Religion -- Old Testament -- Moses

Religion -- Old Testament -- Elijah

Religion -- Old Testament -- Cain & Abel

Religion -- Old Testament -- Adam & Eve

Religion -- New Testament -- Flight Into Egypt

Religion -- New Testament -- Crucifixion

Religion -- New Testament -- Apotheosis

Religion -- New Testament -- Sibyls

Religion -- New Testament -- Daniel

Religion -- New Testament -- Isaiah

Religion -- New Testament -- Mehemiah

Religion -- New Testament -- Christ

Religion -- New Testament -- Annunciation

Religion -- New Testament -- Mary

Religion -- Saint -- St. Matthew

Religion -- Saint -- St. Luke

Religion -- Saint -- St. John

Religion -- Saint -- St. Mark

Religion -- Saint -- St. Jeremiah

Architectural component

Outdoor Sculpture -- New York -- New York

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

Formerly located St. Bartholomew's Church, Madison Avenue & 44th Street, Center 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. Andrew O'Connor and Daniel Chester French created the center portal's bronze doors as well as the tympanum and frieze over the center 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. Roman Bronze Works supplied the door panels; Jno. Williams cast doors. Funding was provided by Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt. IAS files contain a church booklet which provides additional details about St. Bartholomew's architecture and sculpture.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, NY0283, 1989.

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

Monumental News, Dec. 1903, pg. 702.

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

Monumental News, Dec. 1903, pg. 702.

For Model See: 76009767.

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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