All Angels' Church Pulpit and Choir Rail

Karl Theodore Bitter

1900 · Limestone, oak, and walnut · The American Wing

The Austrian-born Bitter was one of the foremost architectural sculptors working in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. This pulpit and choir rail from New York’s All Angels’ Church (demolished 1978) were commissioned by Sarah R. Cornell in memory of her husband and two sons and unveiled on All Saints’ Day (November 1), 1900. Angels carved in high relief, playing musical instruments or carrying appropriate attributes, dramatically twist and turn as they move across the balustrade. Above the pulpit, in an apotheosis of the joyous processional theme below, a large trumpeting angel appears. Supporting the column is a partial figure of Moses holding the tablets of the Law.

Artist

Karl Theodore Bitter

Date

1900

Medium

Limestone, oak, and walnut

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1978