In the Church of the Ascension, however, is La Farge’s masterpiece, without doubt the greatest piece of church decoration in this country. The theme is “The Ascension of Our Lord,” a composition arranged in two groups, one of the ascending Christ amid the clouds, the other of the disciples with Mary the Mother standing on the ground gazing upon the wonder passing beyond their vision. The composition is one of great dignity and deep religious feeling; the vision of the painter is most distinguished; while there are both balance and harmony, and the color scheme is highly decorative and rich. The work was immediately followed by many others, including a music room for the residence of the late Whitelaw Reid, rooms in the residence of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and many churches; while later was to come the work for great public buildings, culminating in the decorations for the Supreme Court room of the new capitol at St. Paul, Minnesota, a colossal undertaking comprising many large panels. La Farge did not, however, confine his activities entirely to mural painting; for during his long career in art he was identified with work in stained glass, to which he gave great attention. His achievements in this direction were among the most distinguished that have ever been attained in the history of the world. [Illustration: EGYPTIAN DANCE By William De L. Dodge In the Majestic Theater at Boston, Massachusetts] WILLIAM M. HUNT Before we come to the group of present workers in mural painting it is necessary that we consider an earlier man, again one of the pioneers, the artist William M. Hunt of Boston, who in 1878 obtained the commission to decorate the New York state capitol at Albany. The result was a fine series of pictures, well composed; but unfortunately they survive only in reproductions, the originals having been painted directly on the walls. These, owing to faulty construction, did not long remain intact, falling out of plumb, and they had to be supported by beams until they were finally entirely destroyed. Hunt had been a pupil of Thomas Couture (koo-toor´) in Paris, a man who had strong influence on his work, and these decorations were very reminiscent of his master. The pictures were fifteen by forty-five feet in size, and the themes were “The Flight of Night” and “The Discoverer,” of which only photographs remain to tell the tale. Today the mural painter produces his work on canvas instead of on the wall, a process that enables him to do most of the labor in the studio, and in case of necessity this, after being attached to the walls, can be taken down again and so preserved. MURAL ART AT “THE WHITE CITY”