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The Blue Danube
Music (Waltz) | Composer: Johan Strauss II | Listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9vh-tSZCoI |
www.historicmusicofnewport.com/2021/08/09/music-of-the-gilded-age-the-age-of-innocence/?fbclid=IwAR1dK-LRQNjp6gHoNETXxWQlsNBCwGdGOYGlz0hvQ3lKEDGBseB48xhq8fQ | The piece is named after the Blue Danube river that runs through Vienna. -
American Progress
Painting (Oil on Canvas) | Artist: John Gast | Location: Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA | www.collections.theautry.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=M545330;type=101
| The subject of the picture is manifest destiny and yet, the actual size of the painting is quite small: 11 1/2 inches x 15 3/4 inches. -
The Gilded Age
Literature (Book) | Author: Mark Twain | www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Twain/Literary-maturity#ref225499 | The story is a satire on greed and corruption. -
Quadrille
Dance (Ballroom) | Originated in Paris ballrooms and imported by English Aristocrats | www.britannica.com/art/quadrille-dance | Quadrilles were performed at parties and were considered a popular dance of the day. -
Waltz
Dance (Ballroom) | Originated in 1500s and made popular by Joseph Lanner and the elder Johann Strauss at the start of the Gilded Age | www.janeausten.co.uk/blogs/arts-and-entertainments/the-history-of-the-waltz | The term waltz means "to roll or revolve." It is a ballroom dance that was originally a folk dance. -
The Minute Man
Sculpture (Bronze) | Artist: Daniel Chester French | Location: National Historical Park, Massachusetts | www.nps.gov/mima/learn/historyculture/the-minute-man-statue-by-daniel-chester-french.htm | The statue is located in Concord at the site of where the first militia men were killed in 1775 by the British. -
Breezing Up
Painting (Oil on Canvas) | Artist: Winslow Homer | Location: National Gallery of Art | www.winslowhomer.org/breezing-up.jsp | Considered one of Homer's finest paintings. Homer was influenced by Japanese art which is evident because of his use of compositional balance. -
The Tribune Building
Architecture (Skyscraper) | Architect: Richard Morris Hunt | Location: New York City, NY | www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/realestate/streetscapes-the-pioneering-tribune-building-of-1875.html | The building (center in picture) was demolished in 1966. When the building first opened, it was home to The Tribune and featured a bar in the lobby. It was one of the first buildings in New York to have an elevator. -
The Portrait of a Lady
Literature (Novel) | Author: Henry James | www.goodreads.com/book/show/264.The_Portrait_of_a_Lady | The story was initially featured as a serial in "The Atlantic Monthly and McMillan's Magazine. The adventures of Isabel Archer were extremely popular. -
Fifth Avenue Millionaire's Row Mansions
Architecture (Personal Residences) | Architects: Richard Morris Hunt, Ross and Stone, John B. Snook, Samuel B. Reed, Charles B. Atwood, McKim, Mead & White, Carrere and Hasings | Fifth Avenue, New York City | www.untappedcities.com/2021/10/18/the-gilded-age-5th-avenue-mansions-of-millionaires-row/ | Many of the homes of NYC's Millionaire's Row have been demolished. Some have been turned into museums, stores or consulates. The first residence was built in in 1882 and continued through 1914. -
Faust
Music (Opera) | Composer Charles Gounod | Listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XYBzrc886g |
www.britannica.com/topic/Faust-opera | The opera was composed in 1859 but did not come to America until 1883. The opera was about a disillusioned scientist, Faust, who made a deal with devil to have his youth returned. The devil (Méphistophélès) conjures an image of his true love, Marguerite, and Faust defaults on the deal. -
Portrait of Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau)
Painting (Oil on Canvas) |
Artist: John Singer Sargent | | Metropolitan Museum of Art.
www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/conservation-and-scientific-research/conservation-stories/2020/madame-x | The painting was provocative due to low the neckline. The original painting had the right strap of the gown falling off the shoulder and Sargent had to paint the strap on to appease his family. -
The Brooklyn Bridge
Architecture (Transportation Bridge) | Architect: John A. Roebling | Construction began in 1869 and was completed in 1883 | Location: New York City connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn over the East River | www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/brooklyn-bridge.shtml | The bridge was once the longest suspension bridge in the world. -
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
Theatre (Traveling Production) | William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody | Omaha, Nebraska (opened and then a national tour) | www.centerofthewest.org/learn/western-essays/wild-west-shows/ | The show was "outdoor entertainment" that survived three decades. -
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Literature (Children's novel) | Author Frances Hodgson Burnett | www.lightsailed.com/catalog/book/frances-hodgson-burnett-the-secret-garden-a-little-princess-little-lord-fauntleroy-loa-323-burnett-frances-hodgson/9781598536393/ The story is a rags-to-riches tale of a young boy named Cedric from New York City. He learns he is an English earl and wins over the hearts of his new family. -
Jeannie Ovington
Painting (Oil on canvas) | Painter: George Peter Alexander Healy | New-York Historical Society, | www.flaglermuseum.us/beautys-legacy | Portraits were very popular in upper class homes. Portraits of all family members were displayed and considered a prestige symbol. -
Winter in Union Square
Painting (Oil on canvas) | Painter: Childe Hassam | Metropolitan Museum of Art | www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/16881 | Hassam was considered an American Impressionist painter. He was from Boston, studied in New York and lived in New York. -
Hope Is The Thing With Feathers
Literature (Poetry) | Author: Emily Dickinson | www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42889/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-314 | Dickinson had less than ten poems published in her lifetime. She had a stroke that killed her at age 55. Her sister, Lavinia, started publishing her poetry afterwards. -
The Tea Room at Marble House
Architecture (Private Residence) | Architect: Richard Morris Hunt | Newport, RI | www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house | The Tea House was built for Alva Vanderbilt to entertain after her divorce. In the mid-1800s, Japan ended isolation. Asian artwork and culture became popular in the United States as a result. -
The Child's Bath
Painting (Oil on canvas) | Artist: Mary Cassatt | Location: The Art Institute of Chicago | ://www.artic.edu/artworks/111442/the-child-s-bath | Cassatt was influenced by Japanese woodblocks that she saw at an exhibition in Paris. The overhead perspective was the influence of Edgar Degas. -
Diana
Sculpture (Bronze) | Sculpture: Augustus Saint-Gaudens | Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC | The sculpture was initially on display on the perch of the Madison Square Garden Tower from 1892 - 1925. -
The Breakers
Architecture (Private Residence) | Architect: Richard Morris Hunt | www.newportmansions.org/explore/the-breakers | Location: Newport, Rhode Island | The home was the grandest of all of the newport mansions (or "cottages" which was the preferred name). It was owned by one of the Vanderbilt son, Cornelius Vanderbilt II. -
Idle Hours
Painting (Oil on canvas) | Painter: H. Siddons Mowbray | Smithsonian American Art Museum | www.americanart.si.edu/artwork/idle-hours-18016 | There is a second pictured named "Idle Hours" that depicted affluent on the beach in New York that was painted by William Merritt Chase in 1894. -
The Biltmore Estate
Architecture (Private Residence | Architects: George Washington Vanderbilt II, Frederick Law Olmsted, Richard Morris Hunt | Location: Asheville, NC | www.biltmore.com/visit/biltmore-estate/biltmore-house/ | Built for the Vanderbilt family, the estate is now a tourist destination. -
Sister Carrie
Literature (Novel) | Author: Theodore Dreiser |
www.dp.la/primary-source-sets/theodore-dreiser-s-sister-carrie-and-the-urbanization-of-chicago | Known as the "greatest of all American urban novels," it is the tale of a young country girl making her American Dream come true in Chicago and New York. -
Northeaster
Painting (oil on canvas) | Artist: Winslow Homer | Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC | www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11130 | The original painting was completed in 1895 and featured two men. In 1901, art collector George Hearn, donated it to the Met and Homer changed the picture by removing the men. -
Snow In New York
Painting (Oil on Canvas) | Artist: Robert Henri | National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/robert-henri.htm | The artist was considered the inspiration for the famous "Ashcan Society" group of artists. -
A Trip to the Moon
Film | Director: Georges Méliès | www.imdb.com/title/tt0000417/?ref_=ttpl_qlLe voyage dans la lune | A short film from France that explored six astronomers going to the moon. -
The Great Train Robbery
Film | Director: Edwin S. Porter (uncredited)
www.imdb.com/title/tt0000439/?ref_=ttmi_tt | The western film was considered the first action film in America. -
William Tecumseh Sherman Monument
Sculpture: Gilded Bronze | Sculpture: Augustus Saint-Gaudens | Grand Army Plaza, New York
www.nycgovparks.org/parks/grand-army-plaza-m062/monuments/1442 | Sherman was a famous Civil War general. It is believed the phrase "War is hell" was uttered by Sherman. -
The House of Mirth
Literature (Book) | Author: Edith Wharton |
www.readgreatliterature.com/literature-lists-timelines/american-literature-gilded-age-1865-1914-reading-list/ | The story is a tragic love story. It is set in New York and follows the life of Lily Bart. -
Magnolias and Irises
Architecture (Glass) | Artist: Louis Comfort Tiffany | Metropolitan Museum of Art | www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/9819 | The piece was originally installed in the Frank Family mausoleum in Brooklyn.