Frieze and ceiling
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
2009.226.19a: 29 1/2 in. × 12 ft. 9 1/4 in. (74.9 × 389.3 cm) 2009.226.19b: 29 1/2 in. × 18 ft. 5 1/4 in. (74.9 × 562 cm) 2009.226.19c: 29 1/8 in. × 12 ft. 8 in. (74 × 386.1 cm) 2009.226.19d: 29 1/2 in. × 18 ft. 5 in. (74.9 × 561.3 cm) 2009.226.19e: 9 ft. 1 3/8 in. × 11 ft. 6 5/8 in. (277.8 × 352.1 cm) 2009.226.19f: 96 7/8 in. × 11 ft. 6 1/8 in. (246.1 × 350.8 cm)
Classification
Frieze, Ceiling
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of The Museum of the City of New York, 2008
Accession Number
2009.226.19a–f
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the opulent world of Gilded Age America with this stunning *Frieze and Ceiling* (1881–82), a collaborative masterpiece by George A. Schaste & Co., designer George A. Schaste, and painter Virgilio Tojetti Crafted in oil on canvas, these expansive panels—stretching up to 18 feet long nearly 30 inches high for the friezes, with ceiling sections around 9 to 11 feet—were designed to adorn lavish interiors, transforming rooms into immersive spectacles of elegance. Created during the height of New York's social elite era, when tycoons commissioned extravagant homes, this work exemplifies t...