Cornelius Vanderbilt I. Artist: Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American, Dublin 1848-1907 Cornish, New Hampshire). Dimensions: 16 1/4 × 22 3/4 in. (41.3 × 57.8 cm). Date: 1882.Saint-Gaudens's work for Cornelius Vanderbilt II's grand residence on Fifth Avenue at Fifty-Seventh Street included three low-relief portraits of family members. The posthumous likeness of patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt I, a steamship and railroad entrepreneur, presents the Commodore, as he was known, posed in profile against a dense background of oak leaves and acorns. This motif, symbolizing strength and regeneration, was adapted from the family coat of arms, visible at the lower right. Saint-Gaudens's bas-relief style underwent a noticeable shift in the early 1880s to incorporate such aestheticizing elements, rendering this portrait in harmony with the sumptuous tapestries and embossed leathers that decorated the house's interior. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.