Hoffman House Bar, New York

Print show an interior view of the bar at the Hoffman House in New York City, with men seated at tables in the foreground, smoking cigars and drinking, also men standing at the bar on the left, a man standing before a large oil painting titled "Nymphs and Satyr" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905). In the background, the tobacconist's shop and the bronze sculpture of Pan and Bacchante.

This iconic Hoffman House Bar opened about 1881 and became a popular resort for politicians and sportsmen. It was finished in mahogany and richly decorated with paintings and sculptures. The ceiling was frescoed and the tiled floor was strewn with Turkish rugs. The bar was famous for its cocktail and works of art. It was closed in July 1896 and a new smaller bar opened in the new 25th Street wing, recently completed.

Nymphs and Satyr, of 1873, is a life-size painting of four water nymphs playfully dragging a mythological satyr into a lake. It is now at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Original title: H.A. Thomas & Wylie's Interior View of the Hoffman House Bar, copyright 1890. Source: Popular graphic art print filing series, Library of Congress.

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