Charles F. McKim 1878 Augustus Saint-Gaudens American McKim (1847-1909) sat for his portrait in Paris in 1878, a year before the formation of McKim, Mead & White, which became the most influential architectural firm of Americas Gilded Age. McKim and Saint-Gaudens met in 1875, brought together by "a devouring love for ice cream," and remained close professional colleagues for three decades. Here McKims features are truthfully rendered in profile, with a receding hairline, prominent jaw, and serious mien. The foliate scroll at the top and the group of acanthus leaves at the lower right refer to McKims passion for the classical as his architectural touchstone. The affectionate inscriptions in filleted bands at top and bottom celebrate "my friend Mac [sic Kim" and the "jolly days" they spent together with Stanford White in the south of France.. Charles F. McKim 11994