NY_MANHATTAN--Arthur Crisp's "Two Green Elephants" and "The Sacred Dragon" Tile Panels

Title of Installation:

"Two Green Elephants" (above) and "The Sacred Dragon" (below)

Materials Used:

Ceramic Tiles

General Description:

One tile panel illustrates two elephants

facing each other carrying baskets of

flowers; there’s a tree in the center of the

panel with two fancy birds sitting on bottom

branches and other birds on the top

branches; the other panel illustrates a Chinese dragon

facing true left. Both were designed by U.S.

painter/muralist Arthur Crisp and the designs were executed by the

American Encaustic Tiling Company. I assume he painted

the mural on the tiles before they were fired.

Technical Information (Size,mfg., etc.):

"The Two Elephants" panel consists of 40 tiles arranged in 4 horizontal rows of

10 tiles each; each individual tile could be 6”, 8”, 9” or 12” square.

"The Sacred Dragon" panel is approximately 8' long x 2' high and consists of

64 tiles, probably 6” faience tiles, arranged horizontally in four rows of 16 tiles.

Year Created:

c.1921

Does Installation Still Exist?

Unknown

If not, What happened?

It is not known if or where these panels were installed or what happened to them.

State:

NY

City:

Manhattan

Additional Information, Websites, Citations:

Photos of these panels can be found in "The Architectural League of New York and Its Relations to Crafts and Manufactures" by H. Van Buren Magonigle (The American Architect, Volume 121, No. 2387, Feb. 15, 1922, pp. 166-167) and in the Year Book

of the Architectural League of New York..., Vol. 37, 1922. Both panels were part of the annual exhibition of the Architectural League of New York.

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