The life of Frederick Douglass, the great 19th century statesman, orator, writer and abolitionist, is a triumphantly American story.

He was born into slavery in the early years of the 19th century and died at the very height of the Gilded Age. His tremendous talents as a leader brought him out of slavery and into the heart of the Gilded Age as a player in the political worlds of Lincoln,  Grant and Hayes.

Joining Carl on this episode is scholar and author Connor Williams who traces Douglass's life from his early years in enslavement through his emancipation and travel in and outside America and his role as an abolitionist and supporter of women's suffrage.

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

Connor has also appeared on the Gilded Gentleman podcast The Adirondacks and Great Camp Sagamore: Retreating to Nature in the Gilded Age

Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Stephanie Herdrich joins Carl for an in-depth look at how the career and personal life of Gilded Age artist John Singer Sargent evolved over his ten-year period in Paris from the 1870's to the mid 1880's.  

Sargent is the subject of a major new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that focuses on this period beginning in his late adolescent years and leading up to the creation of his masterpiece -  the grand, imposing and scandalous portrait of Virginie Gautreau, known as  "Madame X". 

Stephanie discusses some of Sargent's greatest works during this period, as well as some of his most important professional and personal relationships, all of which contributed to a boundary breaking artistic vision. 

This show was edted by Kieran Gannon.

The Irish-born Augustus Saint-Gaudens came to this country as a small child and over the course of his career and life, reaching into the early years of the 20th century, became an artist that truly defined a look for America in sculpture.  

His extraordinary natural talent grew into a master artist who was able to create lifelike depictions in marble and bronze that brought a realism never before seen in American sculpture. Saint-Gauden's style combines realistic imagery, allegory and architectural elements to create unique and very modern experiences for viewers. 

He's perhaps best known for his monumental casts of Civil War heroes from Admiral Daniel Farragut, General William Tecumseh Sherman and President Abraham Lincoln.

Joining The Gilded Gentleman for this episode is Thayer Tolles, the Marica F. Vilcek Curator of American Painting and Sculpture at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Thayer is a noted historian, writer and specialist in Saint-Gaudens life and work. This episode offers a full view of Saint-Gaudens extraordinary life and a detailed look at some of his most famous works. 

Listeners can also visit the Saint Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire. 

With the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Gala on the first Monday of May and the new exhibition on John Singer Sargent and Paris, there is most definitely fashion in the air.  In this ENCORE episode with listener favorite Dr. Elizabeth L. Block we delve into the stories of some of the most important designers and couture houses of Belle Epoque Paris. 

This episode was based on Liz's first book, "Dressing Up: How American Women Influenced French Fashion". Don't miss LIz's news book "Beyond Vanity: The Power and History of Hairdressing" and our accompanying episode.

During the 19th century and culminating in America's Gilded Age, the public's deep fascination for all things Egypt led to "Egyptomania," a craze which affected design, style and cultural and social thought. As a result of wave of exploration and discovery, predominantly by French, English and American parties, the world gained a view into one of the world's most ancient cultures. 

Architecture, fashion and interior design were all influenced by the passion for this emerging ancient culture. In this show, Carl is joined by scholars and Egpytologists Dr. John Darnell and Dr. Colleen Darnell to delve into not only how an understanding of ancient Egypt was evolving during the 19th century but its social and cultural impact. 

Visit the Gilded Gentleman website for a list of all shows

Follow Carl on one of his walking tours! Find out more information at Bowery Boys Walks

This week The Frick Collection will reopen its doors to the public after a renovation and restoration of nearly five years and a cost of $220 million dollars. Visitors will again see the elegant Beaux Arts mansion once occupied by Gilded Age industrialist Henry Clay Frick and his wife and daughter. They will also see the priceless collection of masterworks of art from the Renaissance through the 19th century, much of acquired by Frick himself. 

In this episode, a companion show to the Bowery Boys "House of Beauty: The Story of the Frick Collection", Carl talks with managing educator Caitlin Henningsen about her work researching the domestic staff who worked in the mansion, just who they were and what their roles in the household were. They also speak about how Frick thought about blending art with domestic space in several of his homes and what he wanted to achieve with this mansion before it became a museum after his death in 1919.  

Caitlin and Carl also discuss, thanks to extraordinary archival records,  how the Fricks entertained in a grand Gilded Age style in the very dining room visitors see today.   

Find PART ONE over at the Bowery Boys podcast House of Beauty: The Story of the Frick Collection

Between the late 1890s and early 1920s, over 2 million Jews from Eastern Europe made the long, arduous and unsettling journey to America to escape persecution and violence in their native countries. 

Many of these Jews were fleeing Russia, where a state sanctioned antisemitism forced many to escape for their lives.  This mass immigration was, in large part, the result of the efforts of three entrepreneurial men whose efforts insured escape for tens of thousands. 

-- Albert Ballin, the director of the Hamburg-America line; Jacob Schiff, the German born New York based philanthropist and financier; and the Gilded Age financial titan J.P Morgan, all insured methods of escape that would otherwise not have been possible.  

So much of this story has not been told until now and it is through the research and writing of historian Steven Ujifusa that has finally brought the full story to light.  

Steve joins The Gilded Gentleman table in this episode to discuss what exactly happened, the enormous difference Ballin, Schiff and Morgan all made in helping so many to escare. In addition, Steve shares his own story as well and how he was able to uncover little-known material to tell the larger story. 

New York's NoHo neighborhood, wedged between Greenwich Village and the East Village, holds the stories of many people and places that then went on to become deeply associated with the Gilded Age.  

The Astor family began their dynasty here in both investment and real estate as did the well known Dutch-American merchant family the Schermerhorns.  Caroline Schermerhone who went on to become the famed Mrs. Astor grew up right here on Bond St along with many members of her family.  

NoHo today still contains many remnants of its early 19th century glamorous past as well as sites where the tensions between the wealthy residents of the Lafayette Place neighborhood classed with the growing immigrant population just one street away on the Bowery. 

Master Bowery Boys Walks tour guide Aaron Schielke joins Carl for a look at this fascinating neighborhood which includes stories of the rich and famous as well as the macabre details of a dramatic and grisly 19th century murder that took place on Bond St in the heart of NOHO that remains unsolved to this day. 

Belle da Costa Greene is a truly unique historical figure. As the librarian of Gilded Age financier J.P Morgan's extraordinary personal collection of rare books, manuscripts and historical objects,  Greene was one of the most visible and formidable players in the art world of the early 20th century.  

She sourced precious objects from major galleries and at auction not only in New York, but also throughout Europe with her deep expertise and drive.  

As Belle competed regularly against other major collectors in this male dominated world and was covered regularly by the press, although much of her own personal story remained unknown or the subject of speculation. Belle was born into an affluent African-American family in Washington DC but upon moving North with her mother, she passed for white. With new research and curatorial insight, even more is now known about this exceptional woman and her role in creating one of the world's most important libraries and museum collections.  

 Carl is joined by Morgan Library and Museum curator Philip Palmer to discuss and delve into the world and life of Belle Da Costa Greene. 

This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon

Visit the Morgan Library and Museum and check out the Belle da Costa Greene exhibition (through May 4, 2025) 

And listen to the Bowery Boys podcast on the history of the Morgan Library and Museum

Edith Minturn was a Gilded Age society beauty. Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes was a New York architect passionate about preserving the city's past.  

When John Singer Sargent accepted the commission to paint their portrait as a wedding present, he perhaps didn't realize how difficult it would prove to be. Capturing Edith Minturn Stokes' strong personality as one of the era's "new woman" resulted in a portrait that in some ways was as scandalous as his famous "Madame X". 

Author and Historian Jean Zimmerman joins The Gilded Gentleman to reveal the real story behind this famous portrait, along with just who Newton Phelps Stokes and Edith Minturn really were. The third part of this story is of course Sargent himself who broke new ground and broke a few conventions in portraying "Mr. and Mrs. I.N. Phelps Stokes" as they really were. 

This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon

Get your tickets for the Bowery Boys Gilded Age Weekend, featuring Carl Raymond, the Gilded Gentleman -- May 29-June 1