| The Artists Who Create the Hotels
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848 – 1933) Thomas Hastings met Tiffany when working for the Herter Brothers decorating the 7th Regiment Armory in New York. Tiffany was a decorator of the Ponce de Leon Hotel. Tiffany was born January 17, 1848 the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of Tiffany & Company, a jewelry retailer. Louis Tiffany began his career as a painter under Samuel Coleman and George Inness George Inness (1825-1894) was a Hudson River School painter. in the 1860s and 1870s. He traveled to Europe and North Africa and in1870 he became the youngest member of the National Academy of Design. Tiffany visited St. Augustine in 1883. His St. Augustine paintings include Carriage Waiting Beside a Wall, The Exterior of A House, A Study in St. Augustine, and Outside of a Mosque. Tiffany’s travels introduced him to the designs of medieval and Roman glass. His first stained-glass window was produced in 1878 and he experimented with different types of material to create a variety of new colors for windows. The Tiffany Glass Company was founded in 1885 and lamps were created using the throw-offs from the stained-glass windows. Tiffany also worked with Thomas Edison in 1885 to develop decorative and stage lights for the Lyceum Theater in New York City, the first theater ever to have electric illumination. His range of materials included metalwork, furniture, jewelry, and ceramics in addition to glass. His glasswork can be found in Union Congregational Church in Montclair, N.J., Trinity Episcopal Church in St. Augustine, and Grace United Methodist Church in St. Augustine. He died February 18, 1933. Louis Comfort Tiffany Source: Library of Congress LC-USZ62-115996 |
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| George Willoughby Maynard (1843-1923)
George Maynard was born in Washington, D. C. on March 5, 1843. He painted the ceilings in the Rotunda and dining-room at the Ponce de Leon Hotel. Maynard probably met Carrere and Hastings in Baltimore when he was painting the murals in the Robert Garrett house. Maynard’s introduction to drawing and modeling was under Henry K. Brown. In 1867 he enrolled in the National Academy of Design in New York. Maynard traveled in Europe in 1869 and 1873 – first to Antwerp with painter Edwin White Edwin White (1817-1877) was an American painter who studied in Paris, Rome, and Florence. Among his important works are: “Pocahontas Informing Smith of the Conspiracy of the Indians” and “Washington Resigning his Commission.” and then Transylvania to the Black Sea, Constantinople, Athens, and Rome with artist and writer Francis D. Millet. In 1876 he made his first foray in decorative art as an assistant to John La Farge John La Forge (1835-1910) was an artist in oil and watercolor, a magazine and book illustrator, a muralist and designer of stained-glass windows, and an author of articles and books on art and travel. at Trinity Church The Church was dedicated on Feb 9, 1877; it took La Forge five months to paint the murals and decorations. in Boston. His work includes figures at the Metropolitan Opera House --- "The Chorus" and "The Ballet", the Boston Public Library entrance hall, and the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. Maynard was a member of the Society of American Artists, the American Water Color Society, the Tile, Players and Century Club, president of the Salmagundi Club, and a National Academician. He received a medal of honor as one of the designers of the World’s 1893 Columbian Exposition. His paintings include: “Mermaids and Marines,” a water color called “The Sirens,” “The Angelus,” and “Strange Gods.” He also painted portraits including: William M. Evarts, C. C. Beaman, Chester Chapin, and Judge Addison Brown. He also painted portraits. In 1896 Maynard submitted a design to the U.S. Treasury entitled Civilization Enthroned and Crowned, with Civilization flanked by figures representing Adventure and Discovery. Unfortunately the design has been lost. Below photo George Maynard. Source: Library of Congress LC-USZ6-1189 |
| Herman Schladermundt (1863-1937)
The 1898 Tatler editorializes about the discernment on the part of Henry M. Flagler in selecting Carrere and Hastings, George Maynard, and Herman Schladermundt, “whose work on the decorations of the hotel was most important (Schladermundt).” The Tatler also notes that he spent months on the detail of the Ponce de Leon frescoes. Schladermundt’s full contribution to the Ponce de Leon Hotel is unknown but he is especially known for stained glass and murals. Schladermundt and another artist (Mr. Wood) were Maynard’s assistants at the Ponce de Leon Hotel. The Bacchus windows in the Rotunda and the glass ceiling of the Rotunda may be two examples of his work. Schladermundt worked on other Carrere and Hastings buildings, such as the Boyce Thompson mansion where he was responsible for the stained glass and wall decorations. He also engineered the stained glass dome in the Library of Congress (Jefferson Building), chapel altar, rail, and surrounding pavement in St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in New York City, the stained glass window in the Missouri House of Representatives entitled Glory of Missouri in Peace, and on the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition interior paintings: Autumn and Temple of Ceres with Maynard. However, in St. Augustine Schladermundt is best known for the beautiful windows of Memorial Presbyterian Church. A few years after the church was completed, Henry Flagler agreed to pay for stained-glass windows. Dr. Anderson, the Pastor, and Carrere and Hastings settled on Schladermundt to do the Apostles Creed church windows. |
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| Tiffany Window at Episcopal Church |