Hildreth Meière
One of the most renowned muralists of her time, Hildreth Meière was a pioneer in blending modern design with elements of other artistic styles, such as Byzantine and Classical Greek. Meière not only designed The Mississippi, Father of Waters, in gesso and metal relief, located in the U Deck, or Cabin Class, Lounge, but along with artist Austin Purves, she served as a consultant for the ship’s decorative program and provided advice on the selection of other artists. Hildreth Meière was born in Flushing, Queens and studied at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Manhattan. After graduating, she studied in Florence, Italy, where the frescoes of the Renaissance Masters convinced her to become a muralist.
Hildreth Meière stands in front of a mural she designed for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Image courtesy of the Hildreth Meière Collection at the Archives of American Art.
An American artist active from the early 1920s until her death in 1961, Meière specialized in murals and architectural details, some of which can still be found in situ like her designs for the Great Hall at the National Academy of Science in Washington D.C. and the roundels on the 50th Street façade of New York’s Radio City Music Hall. While much of Meière’s works is categorized as Art Deco, her Mississippi River blended seamlessly into the Mid-Century Modern design of the SS United States.
Hildreth Meière’s work, The Mississippi: Father of Waters, embodied Americana. The wall panel shows the Mississippi River and its tributaries in white and gilded raised gesso. Gold leaf symbols represent cities.
A close up image of The Mississippi. Courtesy of the Hildreth Meière Family Collection.
Meière even went as far as representing Hannibal, Missouri as Huckleberry Finn- a nod to the popular novel by Mark Twain which helped to shape American literature.