The Approved Design

Morgan approved this plan for the East Room of his Library in 1904, and the room was constructed as depicted, though major changes would be introduced in the final stages.

Here, the lunettes are all marked “painting,” to note where ceiling murals by the artist H. Siddons Mowbray would be installed. At top left, the words “Guastavino construction” indicate that the vaulted ceiling would be erected by the firm established by Rafael Guastavino, an immigrant from Spain known for his innovative tiling method. The Florentine dealer Stefano Bardini would supply the stone mantelpiece, though the ornamental top would later be lopped off to make way for a sixteenth-century tapestry.