Charles F. McKim 1878

Curator: Here we have Augustus Saint-Gaudens' bronze relief portrait of Charles F. McKim, dating to 1878. It’s currently residing here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It looks very stern, almost melancholy, don't you think? The sharp, clean lines against the darker metal almost feel like a… well, like a judge staring you down. Curator: Well, McKim was an architect, after all. So perhaps it speaks to the kind of controlled vision and planning he had. These Gilded Age portraits were about projecting a certain image of respectability and intellectual authority. Notice the inscription along the bottom – an architectural reference? Editor: Oh, good eye! I was so stuck on his face, I nearly missed it. And you’re right, there is such a sense of self-possession conveyed, so different from some contemporary art's focus on vulnerability. Do you think the rigidity of the relief format also contributes to that? It seems to lack a certain dynamism. Curator: It's definitely more controlled than some of Saint-Gaudens' other works. And yes, the relief format can feel inherently more static. Yet, I would suggest we consider the class and social positioning McKim occupied at the time. This wasn't just about individual expression, but about solidifying a place within a powerful, elite circle. Editor: Mmh, food for thought! There’s this tension between celebrating a specific individual and acknowledging the forces— social, economic, and even artistic conventions—that shape our perceptions. He looks so determined. Curator: Absolutely. These portraits also become documents that illuminate gendered expectations for men. In order to solidify certain established conventions that determined who held cultural power. Editor: Thinking about those structures—gender, class, and artistry… It enriches the piece with complex associations, and makes one consider our current moment and what will speak to the current values in the future. Curator: Precisely, that is the essence of artistic expression, opening a dialogue through different forms. Editor: I'll never look at a bronze relief the same way again! Thank you for unveiling it for me.