The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 8, 2026

A horizontally oriented tempera and gilt gesso painting depicts a symmetrical architectural elevation for a rotunda. At the upper center, a glinting gold dome with circular patterns crowns an arch containing a mural with five light-skinned figures. Below, light green stone walls flank a tall blue opening between two slender columns. A yellow chair sits on our left and right. Text at the bottom reads, ROTUNDA CLEVELAND ART MUSEUM.

Design for the Cleveland Art Museum Rotunda

c. 1910–20

Tiffany Studios

(United States, New York, 1902–32)
architect

Hubell & Benes

America
Water-based opaque and transparent paints, graphite, and silver-toned metal leaf on pebble textured paper adhered to paper board
Overall: 69.9 x 121 cm (27 1/2 x 47 5/8 in.)
Gift of the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio 2025.161
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This intricate architectural drawing was made with combination of transparent and opaque paints and silver-toned metal leaf on textured paper to provide the effect of a shimmering Tiffany mosaic on the interior of the rotunda.

Description

This architectural presentation drawing is a proposed scheme for the interior decoration of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s rotunda by the Cleveland architectural firm of Hubell & Benes, in conjunction with Tiffany Studios, New York. Although Hubell & Benes completed the museum building, this Tiffany design was never realized. The proposal followed another Hubell & Benes / Tiffany collaboration in Cleveland, that of the Wade Memorial Chapel in Lakeview Cemetery (1901).
  • ?–2024
    Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 9, 2024–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Tiffany in Bloom: Stained Glass Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 20, 2019-October 4, 2020).
  • {{cite web|title=Design for the Cleveland Art Museum Rotunda|url=false|author=Tiffany Studios, Hubell & Benes|year=c. 1910–20|access-date=08 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.161