The estate of William McElcheran
The Gates of Limbo
An Artistic Tradition
Creating a Monumental Door is a grand vision that sculptors aspire to. After he moved to Italy, McElcheran frequently visited Ghiberti’s “Gates of Paradise” that is part of the Baptistry, next to the Duomo in Florence. It is a piece he had studied in detail from photographs when he was a student. Later, he spent time in Paris and visited the “Gates of Hell” created by Rodin. He was amused about how the “Gates of Paradise” was created in a country during a period in which it was heavily integrated with the Church. Rodin’s “Gates of Hell” was created later during the industrial revolution. McElcheran playfully conceived of the “Gates of Limbo” as the appropriate monumental doorway and the perfect metaphor for our time. McElcheran's “Gates of Limbo” was sculpted and cast in bronze during his lifetime but, unfortunately, has not found a home.
The "Gates of Limbo" is waiting for an architect with extraordinary vision to design a prestige building and include these monumental bronze doors which will set the building apart from all others.