J.R. Rice; A.I. Rice; J.C. McCurdy and Co.
Engraving Titled "Within the Gates," a Futuristic Depiction of Eternal Paradise, and Possibly a Source of Inspiration for the NY World's Fair, 1875
Engraving
16 x 20 inches overall
With artist's, engraver's, and publishers credit recto.
With artist's, engraver's, and publishers credit recto.
Sold
This strikingly-modern, mysterious steel engraving is titled “Within the Gates” and is dated 1875. It was published by JC McCurdy and was engraved to accompany “The People’s Standard Edition of...
This strikingly-modern, mysterious steel engraving is titled “Within the Gates” and is dated 1875. It was published by JC McCurdy and was engraved to accompany “The People’s Standard Edition of the Holy Bible.” It is from an original painting by J.R. Rice. It is beautifully engraved, with rich black inks and fine detail throughout.
The work was likely drawn by Philadelphia-area artist James R. Rice. Regarded at the time as an “eminent engraver,” Rice produced religious-themed prints around, and won a number of prizes for his fine engraving work. In an 1880s Philadelphia directory, he lists himself as both an engraver and portrait painter. He did have a son, Arthur Rice, who worked as an engraver. However, his son was Arthur J. Rice (not A.I. Rice, the name credited on the print) and he is not listed in any directory as an engraver until the 1880s.
The scene is a rather futuristic depiction of eternal paradise. The foreground shows people of different races mingling on a small knoll, with angelic figures hovering in the air above them. In the background there is the skyline of a fantastical-looking city, blending ancient and modern structures. A building on the right bears some resemblance to the kind seen at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. And looming over it all - three large spheres and a thin, towering obelisk.
It has been suggested that these dramatic, enigmatic shapes were a source of inspiration for the Trylon and Perisphere, the modernistic centerpiece of the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. (If indeed this print is in some way related to the Philadelphia Exposition, it would make sense that it was used as a source of inspiration to those creating a World’s Fair 75 years later.)
In a July, 1939, issue of the Grand Forks Herald, journalist W.P. Davies wrote about the Trylon and Perisphere in his column “That Reminds me,” pointing out the connection:
“it develops that back in 1875 another artist had a similar idea. In a painting executed for the purpose of Bible illustration the artist placed in the background of his picture a tall triangular spire with its peak piercing the clouds, and not one, but three perispheres. The picture is entitled ‘Within the Gates,' and with its pleasing landscape and other features presents the artist's conception of Heaven.”
And in an article published in the New York Times in 2000, which looked at the cultural history of the World’s fair through the lens of collecting Trylon and Perisphere memorabilia, author Shermen Yellen wrote that “Later it would be discovered that the closest ancestor of the fair's icons was the very antithesis of modernism, an 1875 engraving, '’Within the Gates'... a scene of swooning spirits facing a fully formed Trylon and Perisphere, the artist's paradisiacal dream of heaven.”
Despite the popularity of the J.R. Rice, the large scale operations of publisher J.C. McCurdy and Co., and the handful of references to this work in publication, we can find no other examples of it, nor any records of sale, nor can we locate the original painting on which it is based.
The work was likely drawn by Philadelphia-area artist James R. Rice. Regarded at the time as an “eminent engraver,” Rice produced religious-themed prints around, and won a number of prizes for his fine engraving work. In an 1880s Philadelphia directory, he lists himself as both an engraver and portrait painter. He did have a son, Arthur Rice, who worked as an engraver. However, his son was Arthur J. Rice (not A.I. Rice, the name credited on the print) and he is not listed in any directory as an engraver until the 1880s.
The scene is a rather futuristic depiction of eternal paradise. The foreground shows people of different races mingling on a small knoll, with angelic figures hovering in the air above them. In the background there is the skyline of a fantastical-looking city, blending ancient and modern structures. A building on the right bears some resemblance to the kind seen at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. And looming over it all - three large spheres and a thin, towering obelisk.
It has been suggested that these dramatic, enigmatic shapes were a source of inspiration for the Trylon and Perisphere, the modernistic centerpiece of the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. (If indeed this print is in some way related to the Philadelphia Exposition, it would make sense that it was used as a source of inspiration to those creating a World’s Fair 75 years later.)
In a July, 1939, issue of the Grand Forks Herald, journalist W.P. Davies wrote about the Trylon and Perisphere in his column “That Reminds me,” pointing out the connection:
“it develops that back in 1875 another artist had a similar idea. In a painting executed for the purpose of Bible illustration the artist placed in the background of his picture a tall triangular spire with its peak piercing the clouds, and not one, but three perispheres. The picture is entitled ‘Within the Gates,' and with its pleasing landscape and other features presents the artist's conception of Heaven.”
And in an article published in the New York Times in 2000, which looked at the cultural history of the World’s fair through the lens of collecting Trylon and Perisphere memorabilia, author Shermen Yellen wrote that “Later it would be discovered that the closest ancestor of the fair's icons was the very antithesis of modernism, an 1875 engraving, '’Within the Gates'... a scene of swooning spirits facing a fully formed Trylon and Perisphere, the artist's paradisiacal dream of heaven.”
Despite the popularity of the J.R. Rice, the large scale operations of publisher J.C. McCurdy and Co., and the handful of references to this work in publication, we can find no other examples of it, nor any records of sale, nor can we locate the original painting on which it is based.