Yet the artist remains relatively unknown.
A new book is seeking to give Meiere her due, chronicling a career that broke barriers at a time in the first half of the 20th century when few women artists were working on such a grand scale.
“She was really cutting edge,” said art historian Catherine Coleman Brawer, co-author of The Art Deco Murals of Hildreth Meiere. “Her work has been enjoyed by millions of people over the last 90 years without knowing her name. That’s why we have written this book.”
Meiere, who would go on to work on about 100 projects in 15 states, came of age as an artist at a time when many leading architects turned to the muralist to embellish their buildings.
She landed her first major commission in 1922 to decorate the Great Hall of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., where she created medallions of Art Deco figures depicting earth, fire, water and air, among other imagery.
Among her many captivating narrative designs are the shimmering glass mosaics she created for the eight-story-high arch in the main sanctuary of Temple Emanu-El and the narthex of St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York.
For the Nebraska Capitol, Meiere created designs depicting Native American life on the Great Plains.
Perhaps her most recognizable designs are on the facade of Radio City Music Hall, where colossal metal-and-enamel roundels depict dance, drama and song.
Meiere once said that a beautiful mural is “something that cannot be taken away without hurting the design of the building. If the building can look as well without it, it shouldn’t be there in the first place.”
In 1946, Meiere was the first woman appointed to the New York City Art Commission and later became the first woman to receive the Fine Arts Medal of the American Institute of Architects. Yet after her death in 1961, as architectural tastes changed, she became largely forgotten.
Meiere designed in a variety of media, collaborating with skilled European-trained craftsmen who executed her work in glazed ceramic tile, glass mosaic, stained glass, metal and wood inlay.
When she designed the roundels for Radio City Music Hall, “nobody had worked in mixed metal on a scale like that before,” said Brawer, who curated an exhibition of her ecclesiastical work at New York’s Museum of Biblical Art in 2012.
Adrianne Rubin, the museum’s director of exhibitions, said Meiere’s “ecclesiastical and secular work continue to impact viewers profoundly, so it is only fitting that her name be associated with her beautiful and innovative work.”
To help reintroduce her to the public, a Meiere Crawl exploring her sites in New York City is planned for May 18. The book is scheduled for release on May 1.
___
If You Go…
HILDRETH MEIERE MURALS: http://hildrethmeiere.com/ComissionsByState.html. The works of Art Deco muralist Hildreth Meiere can be found in 100 buildings in 15 states. Here are some highlights:
CONNECTICUT
St. Joseph Church, Canaan: Stations of the Cross, oil and gilt on wood panel, c. 1948
Travelers Insurance Company, Hartford: Lobby mural, marble mosaic, 1956
ILLINOIS
University of Chicago, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, Chicago: Vaulting and apse ceiling, glazed ceramic tile, 1927
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago: Altarpiece and rear wall of miniature church, oil and gilt on wood panel, 1939
KENTUCKY
Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington: Mary Bennett Memorial, oil and gilt on wood panel, 1924
MARYLAND
Bank of America Building, Baltimore: Floor decoration, marble mosaic, 1929
MASSACHUSETTS
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Beverly Farms: Altarpiece, oil and gilt on wood panel, 1930
MICHIGAN
St. Aloysius Church, Detroit: Rear wall, glass mosaic, 1931
MISSOURI
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, St. Louis: Domes, arches, walls, glass mosaic, 1945-61
NEBRASKA
Nebraska State Capitol, Lincoln: Domes, ceilings, floors, tapestries, doors, 1924-32
NEW JERSEY
Newark Museum, Newark: Central panel for Prudential Plaza lobby mural, marble mosaic, 1960
NEW YORK
St. John’s Grace Episcopal Church, Buffalo: Altarpiece, oil with gilt on wood panel, 1944
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Mt. Kisco: altarpiece, oil with gilt on wood panel, 1923
Trinity Episcopal Church, Roslyn: World War II triptych, oil and gilt on wood panel, 1943
St. Bartholomew’s Church, apse and narthex, glass mosaic, 1929-1930; four clerestory windows, stained glass, 1948-1956
Temple Emanu-El, arch and ark of main sanctuary, glass mosaic, 1929
Radio City Music Hall, facade medallions, mixed-metal and enamel, 1932
One Wall Street, Banking Room, glass mosaic, 1931
PENNSYLVANIA
Mary Immaculate Center, Chapel, Northampton: Half-dome of apse, glazed ceramic tile, 1939
Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia: Wall mural behind altar, oil on canvas, 1942
RHODE ISLAND
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Providence: Altarpiece, oil and gilt on wood panel, 1924
VIRGINIA
The Virginia War Museum, Newport News: World War II triptych, oil and gilt on wood panel, 1944
WASHINGTON, DC
Washington National Cathedral, Chapel of the Resurrection: Half dome apse, glass mosaic, 1951
National Academy of Sciences, Great Hal: Dome, raised and gilded gesso, 1924
Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-04-03-14 1418GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
