The life of Frederick Douglass, the great 19th century statesman, orator, writer and abolitionist, is a triumphantly American story.

He was born into slavery in the early years of the 19th century and died at the very height of the Gilded Age. His tremendous talents as a leader brought him out of slavery and into the heart of the Gilded Age as a player in the political worlds of Lincoln, Grant and Hayes.

Joining Carl on this episode is scholar and author Connor Williams who traces Douglass's life from his early years in enslavement through his emancipation and travel in and outside America and his role as an abolitionist and supporter of women's suffrage.

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

Connor has also appeared on the Gilded Gentleman podcast The Adirondacks and Great Camp Sagamore: Retreating to Nature in the Gilded Age

Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Stephanie Herdrich joins Carl for an in-depth look at how the career and personal life of Gilded Age artist John Singer Sargent evolved over his ten-year period in Paris from the 1870's to the mid 1880's.

Sargent is the subject of a major new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that focuses on this period beginning in his late adolescent years and leading up to the creation of his masterpiece - the grand, imposing and scandalous portrait of Virginie Gautreau, known as "Madame X".

Stephanie discusses some of Sargent's greatest works during this period, as well as some of his most important professional and personal relationships, all of which contributed to a boundary breaking artistic vision.

This show was edted by Kieran Gannon.

The Irish-born Augustus Saint-Gaudens came to this country as a small child and over the course of his career and life, reaching into the early years of the 20th century, became an artist that truly defined a look for America in sculpture.

His extraordinary natural talent grew into a master artist who was able to create lifelike depictions in marble and bronze that brought a realism never before seen in American sculpture. Saint-Gaudens style combines realistic imagery, allegory and architectural elements to create unique and very modern experiences for viewers.

He's perhaps best known for his monumental casts of Civil War heroes from Admiral Daniel Farragut, General William Tecumsek Sherman and President Abraham Lincoln.

Joining The Gilded Gentleman for this episode is Thayer Tolles, the Marica F. Vilcek Curator of American Painting and Sculpture at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thayer is a noted historian, writer and specialist in Saint-Gaudens life and work. This episode offers a full view of Saint-Gaudens extraordinary life and a detailed look at some of his most famous works.

Listeners can also visit the Saint Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire.