Detail of case
Detail of case decoration
Detail of case decoration
Detail of case decoration
Detail of case decoration: lyre medallion
Detail of case decoration
Detail of music stand and piano fallboard painting by Sir Edward Poynter. oil on cedar.
Piano fallboard painting by Sir Edward Poynter. oil on cedar.
Detail of left fallboard painting by Sir Edward Poynter. oil on cedar.
Detail of left keyboard panel
Detail of left keyboard panel.
Detail of right keyboard panel
Name of the Greek muse, Terpsichore, goddess of dancing and the chorus, inlaid on the piano lid.
Detail of lid interior with inscribed names of musicians who have played the piano. Signatures of [Andrés] Segovia, Mimi Benzell, Theodore Thomas, Anton Seid, T[imothee]. Adamowski, Walter Damrosch, Arthur Friedheim, Richard Rodgers, Victor Herbert, Sherman Frank, Larry Gelbart, and Norman Gimbel.
Detail of lid interior with inscribed names of musicians who have played the piano: Jessie Shay and J. Prisament signatures.
Detail of lid interior with inscribed names of musicians who have played the piano: Jessie Shay and J. Prisament signatures.
Detail of lid interior with inscribed names of musicians who have played the piano: signatures of Sir Arthur Sullivan, William S. Gilbert, Blanche Gordon, Marion Newhouse, and Leo Russotto.
Detail of lid interior with inscribed names of musicians who have played the piano: signatures of Pvt. Roy Weisberg and Evelyn.
Detail of lid interior with inscribed names of musicians who have played the piano. SIgned [illegible letter] + F Leibow, and Minnie Br[illegible] [illegible] TapCa.
Detail of lid interior with inscribed names of musicians who have played the piano. Signed M. Brenton Treble, Hank Simon, Ruth [or Beth?], E Rosenbaum, Gary [illegible], Arthur Dean [?], Anthony [illegible], Paul Janneli, and Sady [?] Zahn [?].
Detail of lid interior with inscribed names of musicians who have played the piano. Signed TM and illegible signature.
Underside of lid
Installation view from exhibition from 2017 exhibition, Orchestrating Elegance: Alma-Tadema and Design, highlighting restores paino stools.
Installation view from exhibition from 2017 exhibition, Orchestrating Elegance: Alma-Tadema and Design.
Installation view from exhibition from 2017 exhibition, Orchestrating Elegance: Alma-Tadema and Design.
View of piano stool post-conservation, 2017.
View of piano stool post-conservation, 2017.
View of piano stool post-conservation, 2017.
View of piano stool post-conservation, 2017.
View of piano stool embroidery post-conservation, 2017.
View of piano stool post-conservation, 2017.
Designed by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
British, born Netherlands, 1836–1912
Manufactured by Johnstone, Norman & Co., London Instrument and case by Steinway & Sons, New York Fallboard painted by Sir Edward John Poynter, (English, 1836 - 1919)
Model D Pianoforte and Stools
1884–87
When the elaborate case of this Steinway piano was displayed in London in 1885, the press called it “splendid,” “remarkable,” and “superb.” Alma-Tadema designed it as the centerpiece of a “Greco-Roman” music room in the Manhattan mansion of financier Henry Marquand. With its lavish materials and decorative flourishes—including the names of Apollo and the Muses inlaid on the lid—it remains one of the grandest grand pianos ever made.
| Medium | oak, cherry, ebony, boxwood, satinwood, cedar, holly, ivory, coral, mother-of-pearl, abalone, copper, brass, silver, parchment, and modern upholstery |
| Dimensions | Overall piano: 40 3/16 x 104 3/4 x 59 13/16 in. (102.1 x 266.1 x 151.9 cm) Larger Poynter painting: 6 3/8 × 46 5/16 in. (16.2 × 117.6 cm) Smaller Poynter painting: 6 3/8 × 2 in. (16.2 × 5.1 cm) Stools each: 21 × 22 3/4 × 17 3/4 in. (53.3 × 57.8 × 45.1 cm) |
| Object Number | 1997.8 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by the Clark, 1997 |
| Status | On View |
Image Caption
Designed by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Model D Pianoforte and Stools, 1884–87, oak, cherry, ebony, boxwood, satinwood, cedar, holly, ivory, coral, mother-of-pearl, abalone, copper, brass, silver, parchment, and modern upholstery. Clark Art Institute, Acquired by the Clark, 1997.8
Select Bibliography
Provenance
Henry Gurdon Marquand, 11 East 68th St., New York (until 1902; his sale, American Art Association, New York, 31 January 1903, lots 1363 and 1365, purchased by William Barbour); Col. William and Julia Adelaide Barbour, 11 West 53rd St., New York (until 1923; their sale, American Art Association, 13 November 1923, lot 278, purchased by "B. Martin"); Martin and Louise Heims Beck, 831 Lexington Ave., New York (displayed at the Martin Beck Theatre, 302 W 45th St., New York, from the late 1920s; presumably sold with the Martin Beck Theatre to William L. McKnight, 16 February 1966); William L. McKnight, Minnesota and Jujamcyn Theaters (remained on display at the Martin Beck Theatre; Jujamcyn Theaters sold to James and Virginia Binger, 1970); James H. and Virginia McKnight Binger, Minneapolis and Jujamcyn Theaters (remained on display at the Martin Beck Theatre; sale, PB Eighty-Four, New York, 26 March 1980, lot 535, purchased by Barry Trupin); Barry H. Trupin and Ann Marie Tahka, New York (on loan to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1986–95; sale, Christie's, London, 7 November 1997, lot 86, purchased by the Clark Art Institute); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1997.
