Life — July 20, 1911 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical stained-glass window design titled "Life's Gallery of Saints," presenting a central figure with a halo surrounded by smaller panels depicting various scenes. The central figure appears to be a businessman or industrialist, depicted with sanctified imagery—the halo and formal pose mimicking religious iconography. The surrounding panels show various industrial and commercial activities: factories, railroads, ships, and business operations. The satire mocks American industrial magnates by treating them as "saints," inverting religious veneration to critique the era's reverence for wealthy industrialists and their enterprises. The visual language—stained glass, halo, formal composition—deliberately parodies religious art to comment on how American culture had elevated business leaders to near-religious status during the Gilded Age.