| Creator |
D'Ascenzo, Nicola, 1871-1954, artist. |
| Title |
Fragment & decoration for Camden Library. Cooper Library. [graphic] / Nicola D'Ascenzo 1917. |
| Publisher |
[Philadelphia] |
| Date |
1917 |
| Physical Description |
1 drawing : ink ; sheet 34 x 27 cm (13.5 x 10.5 in.) |
| Description |
Pencil sketch for the frieze, "America Receiving the Gifts of the Nations," that decorates the front entrance to the Cooper
Library Branch, Camden, New Jersey and depicting a profile portrait of Dante and a fragment of the frieze showing Dante, Walt
Whitman, and Molière and people from Europe and Asia giving gifts to America. In the top, shows a bust-length portrait of
Dante in right profile. He is attired in a cap with a laurel wreath. In the bottom, shows a partial sketch of the frieze.
In the left, poets Dante, Whitman, and Molière stand together. In the center, shows Joannes Gutenberg and William Tyndale
giving gifts (ie. the printing press and translated Bible) from Europe to America. In the right, shows people attired in national
dress representing Babylonia, Persia, and Japan, who bring gifts of the principles of construction, textiles, and ceramics.
The Japanese woman, wearing her hair tied up and attired in a kimono, carries a pot or vase.
|
| Notes |
Title and date from manuscript written on recto. |
|
Gift of David Doret and Linda G. Mitchell, 2025. |
| Biographical / historical note |
Nicola D'Ascenzo (1871-1954) was an Italian-born, Philadelphia arist who worked as a stained glass designer, painter, and
instructor. He took classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and later attended and then taught at the Pennsylvania
Museum School. Between 1904 and 1954, his studio, D'Ascenzo Studios, completed more than 7,800 stained glass windows.
|
| Subject |
Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321 -- Portraits. |
|
Gutenberg, Johann, 1397?-1468 -- Portraits. |
|
Molière, 1622-1673 -- Portraits. |
|
Tyndale, William, -1536 -- Portraits. |
|
Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892 -- Portraits. |
|
Allegories. |
|
Ceramics -- Japan. |
|
Decorative arts -- Japan. |
|
Friezes (Entablature components) -- New Jersey -- Camden. |
|
Kimonos. |
|
Women -- Japanese. |
|
AAPI. |
| Genre |
Pencil drawings -- 1910-1920. |
| Location |
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| *Doret and Mitchell Collection – Drawings & Watercolors [P.2025.75.3] |
| Accession number |
P.2025.75.3 |
