Friends of the Gilders

The Gilded Circle

An extraordinary constellation of artists, writers, naturalists, and statesmen whose lives and work converged through Helena de Kay and Richard Watson Gilder.

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Augustus Saint-Gaudens

1848–1907

The preeminent American sculptor of the Gilded Age and a close friend of the Gilders.

Henry David Thoreau

1817–1862

Naturalist, essayist, and philosopher whose ideas profoundly shaped the circle's literary world.

John Burroughs

1837–1921

Beloved American naturalist and essayist of the late 19th century.

Mark Twain

1835–1910

America's foremost humorist and novelist, an intimate of the Gilder salon.

Henry James & Minnie Temple

The novelist and his luminous cousin who haunted his fiction.

Mary Hallock Foote

1847–1938

Author and illustrator of the American West, lifelong friend of Helena de Kay Gilder.

Wyatt Eaton

1849–1896

Painter and co-founder, with Helena de Kay Gilder, of the Society of American Artists.

Winslow Homer

1836–1910

Master American painter of land, sea, and rural life.

Helena Modjeska

1840–1909

Polish-American Shakespearean actress celebrated across the Gilded Age stage.

President Grover Cleveland & Frances Folsom

The 22nd and 24th U.S. President and First Lady, friends of the Gilders.