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The Grandest Madison Square Garden: Art, Scandal, and Architecture in Gilded Age New York
November 1891, the heart of Gilded Age Manhattan. Thousands filled the streets surrounding Madison Square, fingers pointing, mouths agape. After countless struggles, Stanford White--the country's most celebrated architect was about to dedicate America's tallest tower, the final cap set atop his Madison Square Garden, the country's grandest new palace of pleasure. Amid a flood of electric light and fireworks, the gilded figure topping the tower was suddenly revealed--an eighteen-foot nude sculpture of Diana, the Roman Virgin Goddess of the Hunt, created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the country's finest sculptor and White's dearest pal.
The Grandest Madison Square Garden tells the remarkable story behind the construction of the second, 1890, Madison Square Garden and the controversial sculpture that crowned it. Set amid the magnificent achievements of nineteenth-century American art and architecture, the book delves into the fascinating private lives of the era's most prominent architect and sculptor and the nature of their intimate relationship. Hinman shows how both men pushed the boundaries of America's parochial aesthetic, ushering in an era of art that embraced European styles with American vitality. Situating the Garden's seminal place in the history of New York City, as well as the entire country, The Grandest Madison Square Garden brings to life a tale of architecture, art, and spectacle amid the elegant yet scandal-ridden culture of Gotham's decadent era.
The Grandest Madison Square Garden tells the remarkable story behind the construction of the second, 1890, Madison Square Garden and the controversial sculpture that crowned it. Set amid the magnificent achievements of nineteenth-century American art and architecture, the book delves into the fascinating private lives of the era's most prominent architect and sculptor and the nature of their intimate relationship. Hinman shows how both men pushed the boundaries of America's parochial aesthetic, ushering in an era of art that embraced European styles with American vitality. Situating the Garden's seminal place in the history of New York City, as well as the entire country, The Grandest Madison Square Garden brings to life a tale of architecture, art, and spectacle amid the elegant yet scandal-ridden culture of Gotham's decadent era.
451 pages, Hardcover
Published May 23, 2019
10 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Suzanne Hinman
1 book3 followersSuzanne Hinman holds a Ph.D. in American art history and has been a curator, gallerist, museum director, professor, and an art model. She owned an art gallery in Santa Fe and then served as director of galleries at the Savannah College of Art and Design, the world’s largest art school. Her interest in the artists and architects of the American Gilded Age and the famed Cornish Art Colony in New Hampshire grew while associate director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College. The author continues to reside near Cornish as an independent scholar.
Q&A
What inspired you to write about the lives and achievements of architect Stanford White and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens?
It is so difficult to recall exactly, as I began more than 12 years ago, largely inspired, I would have to say, by the beauty of their creations, separately, and then even more so together. I had always loved the Italian-inspired architecture of McKim, Mead, and White, whether in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else I could find it. I was also intrigued by the life of Stanford White, the most exuberant, amazing, creative of the three partners. When I first moved to New Hampshire, I visited the town of Cornish and discovered the incredibly beautiful work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, set at Aspet, his home that sparked the beginning of the Cornish Art Colony and is now a National Historic Site. And when I discovered that these two men not just knew each other but were dearest friends who often collaborated together, it was even better.
I probably first discovered the Diana sculpture that topped the tower of Madison Square Garden while visiting the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where in a half-size version she welcomes visitors to the grand courtyard of the American Wing. It took a few years before I was able to see the actual surviving 1893 version Diana, reigning over the Great Stair Balcony at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and that was an amazing moment.
Which part of researching for the Grandest Madison Square Garden was the most personally interesting to you?
I truly loved it all. Of course, visiting archives that held the letters and notes actually written by my two key players, architect Stanford White and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, was definitely an incredible experience–touching (in gloves) the pieces of paper, holding them in my hands, studying the signatures, the extra bits written in the margins, and all the wonderful information they revealed. Among the most important collections were the Avery Architectural and Fine Art Library at Columbia and the New York Historical Society for the papers of Stanford White and the McKim, Mead & White firm. For Augustus Saint-Gaudens, it was the Saint-Gaudens Papers at Rauner Special Collections, Baker Library, at Dartmouth College.
The second major source of research information was the newspapers of the day, and that was quite exciting also, finding contemporary accounts written the very day, filled with so much information, much of which had not been seen or noted for more than a hundred years. I loved the detective work, stumbling on amazing new bits as I searched newspapers archives now so accessible online. The discoveries I made, including a long-forgotten scandal regarding Saint-Gaudens and his nude models and a new theory regarding the crime-of-the-century murder of White at the Garden were quite exciting!
Q&A
What inspired you to write about the lives and achievements of architect Stanford White and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens?
It is so difficult to recall exactly, as I began more than 12 years ago, largely inspired, I would have to say, by the beauty of their creations, separately, and then even more so together. I had always loved the Italian-inspired architecture of McKim, Mead, and White, whether in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else I could find it. I was also intrigued by the life of Stanford White, the most exuberant, amazing, creative of the three partners. When I first moved to New Hampshire, I visited the town of Cornish and discovered the incredibly beautiful work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, set at Aspet, his home that sparked the beginning of the Cornish Art Colony and is now a National Historic Site. And when I discovered that these two men not just knew each other but were dearest friends who often collaborated together, it was even better.
I probably first discovered the Diana sculpture that topped the tower of Madison Square Garden while visiting the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where in a half-size version she welcomes visitors to the grand courtyard of the American Wing. It took a few years before I was able to see the actual surviving 1893 version Diana, reigning over the Great Stair Balcony at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and that was an amazing moment.
Which part of researching for the Grandest Madison Square Garden was the most personally interesting to you?
I truly loved it all. Of course, visiting archives that held the letters and notes actually written by my two key players, architect Stanford White and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, was definitely an incredible experience–touching (in gloves) the pieces of paper, holding them in my hands, studying the signatures, the extra bits written in the margins, and all the wonderful information they revealed. Among the most important collections were the Avery Architectural and Fine Art Library at Columbia and the New York Historical Society for the papers of Stanford White and the McKim, Mead & White firm. For Augustus Saint-Gaudens, it was the Saint-Gaudens Papers at Rauner Special Collections, Baker Library, at Dartmouth College.
The second major source of research information was the newspapers of the day, and that was quite exciting also, finding contemporary accounts written the very day, filled with so much information, much of which had not been seen or noted for more than a hundred years. I loved the detective work, stumbling on amazing new bits as I searched newspapers archives now so accessible online. The discoveries I made, including a long-forgotten scandal regarding Saint-Gaudens and his nude models and a new theory regarding the crime-of-the-century murder of White at the Garden were quite exciting!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 14, 2020
The New York of Yesteryear
I didn't know that the present Madison Square Garden is the fourth structure with that name. And it didn't occur to me that it was strange that today's Madison Square Garden is far from Madison Avenue. I had no idea that the architectural landscape of NYC had changed so radically over the last hundred years. This book is an introduction to New York after the Civil War and before the First World War, the New York that Walt Whitman, Edith Wharton, and Henry James knew -- a world that no longer exists.
This book is about an immense building that once stood at the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, that housed circuses, concerts, plays, horse shows, dog shows, restaurants, every imaginable form of entertainment. It was a famous landmark of both the city and the nation. And no trace of it remains today. I thought of humans as transitory and buildings as permanent. But buildings too have their lifetimes, and in New York City those lifetimes can be shorter than those of men.
I'm reminded of The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, which tells of the World's Fair in Chicago, 1893. The first version of a statue of the naked goddess Diana that was once the focal point of the Madison Square Garden, atop its tall tower, was moved to the Chicago World's Fair. The buildings of the World's Fair were built from scratch and then torn down, only intended to last for less than a year, while the Madison Square Garden was intended to be permanent and, given the quality of its construction, it could have lasted for centuries. But yet it was destroyed a few decades later, to make room for another building.
The main character of this story is the building itself. We watch its birth, its coming of age, and its destruction. We also hear the stories of its parents -- the architect Stanford White and his sculptor friend and colleague Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
I'll look at New York City differently now, appreciating that the experience of walking through its streets today may never be repeated. It seems to be a city of reinforced concrete and stone. It projects the illusion of solidity and permanence. But it is ephemeral, like a Japanese watercolor, to be cherished for its fragility, its unique and fleeting beauty.
I didn't know that the present Madison Square Garden is the fourth structure with that name. And it didn't occur to me that it was strange that today's Madison Square Garden is far from Madison Avenue. I had no idea that the architectural landscape of NYC had changed so radically over the last hundred years. This book is an introduction to New York after the Civil War and before the First World War, the New York that Walt Whitman, Edith Wharton, and Henry James knew -- a world that no longer exists.
This book is about an immense building that once stood at the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, that housed circuses, concerts, plays, horse shows, dog shows, restaurants, every imaginable form of entertainment. It was a famous landmark of both the city and the nation. And no trace of it remains today. I thought of humans as transitory and buildings as permanent. But buildings too have their lifetimes, and in New York City those lifetimes can be shorter than those of men.
I'm reminded of The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, which tells of the World's Fair in Chicago, 1893. The first version of a statue of the naked goddess Diana that was once the focal point of the Madison Square Garden, atop its tall tower, was moved to the Chicago World's Fair. The buildings of the World's Fair were built from scratch and then torn down, only intended to last for less than a year, while the Madison Square Garden was intended to be permanent and, given the quality of its construction, it could have lasted for centuries. But yet it was destroyed a few decades later, to make room for another building.
The main character of this story is the building itself. We watch its birth, its coming of age, and its destruction. We also hear the stories of its parents -- the architect Stanford White and his sculptor friend and colleague Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
I'll look at New York City differently now, appreciating that the experience of walking through its streets today may never be repeated. It seems to be a city of reinforced concrete and stone. It projects the illusion of solidity and permanence. But it is ephemeral, like a Japanese watercolor, to be cherished for its fragility, its unique and fleeting beauty.
November 18, 2019
The subtitle tells it all. You'll discover the fascinating history of this N.Y. icon, the tragedies and triumphs, the planning and building of it. Add in Standford White, the infamous architect and his scandals. Plus Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the country's leading sculptor who created Diana, The Roman Virgin Goddess of the hunt which sets atop the building. He was White's dearest pal. The book reads like a novel. You'll even get a side trip to the Chicago famous White World's Fair.
January 2, 2023
I was completely surprised that this biography of a building held my interest from cover to cover! The details about the artists disappointed me. I had always thought August Saint Gaudens was my hero, but after learning about his escapades, now I'm not so sure. The lost Diana sculptures was sad. How could anything that large disappear? Maybe they'll turn up in reasonably good condition.
February 27, 2020
What an amazing, in depth, study of the great artists and architects of the time. While a bit slow to start, it was hard to put down. If you are a fan of Saint Gaudens or McKim Mead and White, I suggest this read!
February 28, 2019
A fascinating book, as engaging and enthralling like a novel.
I like the well researched theme as I'm fascinated by the Gilded Age.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC
I like the well researched theme as I'm fascinated by the Gilded Age.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC
October 1, 2019
Fascinating story but the writing was a bit tangled which made it sometimes difficult to follow the timelines. Glad I read it.
January 28, 2020
Good book about old New York...a little too detailed on the Diana statue. An enjoyable book
June 30, 2020
Grandest and gilded
This fascinating book takes a look not only at the Garden, but also its architects, it's artists, and the rich and famous of the gilded age.
This fascinating book takes a look not only at the Garden, but also its architects, it's artists, and the rich and famous of the gilded age.
July 12, 2019
This book gave all the details of the construction and uses of the original Madison Square Garden, started in 1891. It detailed the research into what the building should look like and include, the construction materials and why they were used, the drawn-out research and making of the Diana weather vane on top of the tower, the people associated with the project, and how it was used when completed.
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October 12, 2019Selection for the Mulberry Street Library Book Discussion Group, Wednesday, October 9, 2019!
Meets at 6 PM in the Community Room.
We have copies available behind the downstairs reference desk -- just ask a librarian.
You can also ask to have the checkout time extended until the day of discussion.
Meets at 6 PM in the Community Room.
We have copies available behind the downstairs reference desk -- just ask a librarian.
You can also ask to have the checkout time extended until the day of discussion.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews