Walls Speak: The Narrative Art of Hildreth Meiere

Long before there was David Lee Csicsko (see our post of Jan. 26th), there was Hildreth Meiere.


The exhibit, "Walls Speak", currently running at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts in St. Bonaventure, NY and companion catalogue are musts for any mosaicist or large format artist who wishes to collaborate with architects, designers and clients in creating art that transforms public spaces and people's lives.

Finding the art and life of Hildreth Meiere (1892-1961) last fall was a bit like finding our grandmother's jewelry box. We had faint photographic memories of this beloved brooch or that scandalous hatpin, but being able to rediscover and investigate them close up, one at a time, opened up a new level of appreciation for the style and joie de vivre of the woman. So, when we read the Preface for the catalogue by Joseph A. LoSchiavo, we blurted out, "Yes!"

For the better part of my adult life Hildreth Meiere has been like one of those neighbors we meet regularly but whom we don't get to know very well or whose name we somehow fail to learn. And then suddenly, on revelatory day, we realize that a person we've taken for granted has ad an impact on the world around us beyond our imagining.

Hildreth Meiere was one amazing woman. Born in New York, educated at the finest private schools, she fell in love with large-format artwork while studying art in Florence. The woman wanted to work BIG -- and so she did creating narrative murals, sculptures and mosaics that adorn some of our most iconic buildings . . .

Radio City Music Hall, NYC "Dance" 1932

and government places . . .

Nebraska State Capitol, Lincoln, Neb. 1924-32

and sacred spaces.

Temple Emanu-El NYC 1929

Synonymous with the Art Deco Movement, Meiere was the first woman artist to receive the Fine Arts Medal of the American Institute of Architects. Her citation from 1956 reads:

A Master of Murals: the world of art might write your name high on the list of the great among our painters and write truly, but not fully. Mosaic, terra cotta, leaded glass, metal, gesso -- these and still other media respond gratefully to the direction of your heart and hands. Your collaboration with architects and other artists brings more than the addition of beauty; it transfuses the joint concept and makes it indivisible. In accepting one more token, added to all the expressions of grateful appreciation your work has earned, you will permit us the realization that you are giving the Institute the greater honor.

Oh, my. High praise indeed. Especially coming from a male-dominated industry and association. It is hard to understand why we know so little of Ms. Meiere when someone like Julia Morgan is so well known.

In this post, we're going to try to rectify that a bit and quickly take a look at several of Ms. Meiere's projects. We'll focus on how she worked as an artist and collaborator in creating extraordinary environments to gather, work, pray and play in. We are much, much indebted to Ms. Meiere's granddaughter, Hilly Meiere Dunn, for providing all the photographs (unless noted) and coordinating our communications with the Exhibit's Curator and author of the catalogue, Catherine Coleman Brawer. At the end of the post, you'll find links of interest.

Excerpts from "Walls Speak", the catalogue:

Curator Coleman Brawer has done an incredible job of documenting how Meiere collaborated with architects like the celebrated Bertram G. Goodhue (1869-1924). Coleman Brawer writes:

Meiere immediately grasped the role Goodhue required of her: to complement the architecture by translating abstract symbols and themes into narrative images that augmented his vision and emphasized a building's cultural significance.

The Temple Emanu-El, NYC (1929)

Let's take a look at Meiere's narrative gifts at work in the sacred space of Temple Emanu-El, the largest synagogue in the world.

"Creation", at apex of arch.

Coleman Brawer writes:

For the apex of the arch, Hildreth Meiere designed an image to represent day two of Creation as described in Genesis 1:7-8 "So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day."

Meiere's design is simple, elegant, concise and totally conveys the intent of the scripture used as inspiration. As one small component in a very large, ornate canvas, it is that brevity that makes "Creation" a focal point. Here again is the complete arch.



The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, (1945-1961)

Coleman Brawer's description of the Drinking Deer for the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis provides a wonderful lesson in design for mosaic artists. As you can see, Meiere's studies were all done to-scale and often indicated the placement and andamento of tesserae with separate brush strokes.

(left) Gouache on cartoon paper, 104 x 48 in.

The scale of Hildreth Meiere's mosaic was so large that she needed two sheets of four-foot-wide cartoon paper to draw each deer. Her depiction of the deer, the stream they drink from, and the fish in the stream is striking in its naturalism and attention to detail. Even though she was designing for a mosaic to be seen from at least fifty feet below, Meiere included different species of fish and flowers, as well as subtle shadings of her figures that give the mosaic depth and realistic appearance. The shimmering gold of the grapevine augments the mosaic's liveliness. -- Coleman Brawer


The Nebraska State Capitol, Lincoln, Neb. (1924-1932)

Equally valuable for mosaic artists is Coleman Brawer's exhaustive research and documentation of the give-and-take between artists, clients, designers and architects while working on large-scale projects together.

Case in point: Hartley Burr Alexander (1873-1939) was asked to develop the icons and symbols that served as the basis for imagery used throughout the Nebraska State Capitol, one of this country's architectural treasures. Rare for his time, Alexander had a great appreciation for the people and culture of native Americans. For the rotunda, he chose a theme of "Native American Life on the Plains."

Peace Council, study for ceiling panel in Senate Chamber, 1926

Coleman Brawer writes:

Hartley Burr Alexander was not happy with four of Hildreth Meiere's early studies for War Party: "The meaning . . . is simply not present. It is not war." He found her studies too "ceremonial." "I do wish you at least try out an exploit picture, which does not mean war as the Indian understands it." Meiere kept submitting revised studies to Alexander, who commented on the plume-banner as overdone, the shields as too subordinate, the warriors as all left-handed, the lance as incorrectly held, and the charge itself as lacking "go."

War Party, study for ceiling panel in Senate Chamber 1926

Ouch. It took six weeks for Meiere to submit designs that Alexander was finally happy with. And these were only a small portion of the work Meriere did with Alexander over the eight years it took to complete the statehouse. Her work there ranged from fabulous floor mosaics in the foyer to the tapestry you see below the rotunda.



Beyond the glorious studies and photographs of actual work in situ, the exhibit catalogue offers wonderful "behind the scenes" photographs that we found enchanting.

The Travelers Insurance Company

For the Travelers Insurance Company headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut, Meiere designed a series of marble mosaics. The V. Foscato Factory in Long Island City, NY was responsible for the fabrication.

Black and white photos courtesy of Travelers Insurance Companies, St. Paul, Minn.

Hildreth Meiere in her 66th Street studio with F.J. Roorda of Voorhees, Walker, Smith & Smith, architects. C .1955

Craftsmen at the V. Foscato Factory in Long Island City, NY 1956

Working in reverse from the suspended cartoon behind them, craftsmen at the V. Foscato factory are placing marble tesserae free-hand within the outlines of different sections of Hildreth Meiere's design for the Travelers Insurance Company lobby mosaic. -- Coleman Brawer

Hildreth Meiere and Vincent Foscato review completed sections of the Travelers Insurance Company lobby mosaic, 1956

The full-scale cartoon tacked to the wall and the to-scale study propped on the floor to the left enable Hildreth Meiere and Vincent Foscato to compare the completed section of the marble mosaic and Meiere's original design. The mosaic sections on the floor have been glued to a paper backing and are in reverse from the study, cartoons, and final mosaic. -- Coleman Brawer

Once again, we wish Scotty were around to beam us up -- this time to St. Bonaventure and the Quick Center. If you go, let us know. If you can't go, then we do highly recommend the catalogue. What you have seen here is just a taste of the treasures that await within the gorgeous, 112 page book.

One Wall Street, The Banking Room 1931
And yes, it really DOES exist.

Detail shots, One Wall Street, The Banking Room 1931

For more on the Exhibit and Catalogue Orders, go to the Regina A. Quick Center website here.
The Exhibit runs through June 13, 2010.
Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure NY
Open Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday, Noon to 4:00 pm
For more about Ms. Meiere: www.hildrethmeiere.com

All photographs Copyright 2009 Hildreth Meiere Dunn unless otherwise noted.

Again, our profound thanks to Ms. Dunn and Ms. Coleman Brawer.

Enjoy -- Nancie