by Guastavino Sr. covered the vaults with plaster. The center entrance consists of three arches flanked by large sconces. Within each arch are sets of bronze doors by Daniel Chester French added in 1904, which depict left to right, low-relief allegories of Music and Poetry; Knowledge and Wisdom; and Truth and Romance. Beneath the figure of Music is a quote from Arcades by Milton Such sweet compulsion doth in music lie, to lull the daughters of Necessity, And keep unsteady Nature to her law. Beneath Poetry is the inscription True Poetry is Like the Loadstone Which Both Attracts the Needle and Supplies it With Magnetic Power. The Knowledge door contains a quote from Proverbs 24:3: By knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all pleasant and precious riches; the Wisdom door states There is in Wisdom a spirit subtil, clear in utterance, loving what is good, pure, stedfast. On the Truth door is the inscription Truth is The Strength and The Kingdom and The Power and the Majesty of all Ages A Romance to Rede and Drive the Night and the Romance door states Away from me thought it Better Play than Either at Chesse or Tables. Flanking the entry are allegorical representations of Science, to the south and Art, on the north, completed by Bela Pratt in 1912. On the panels above the arches are seals of Massachusetts, the Library and the city of Boston. The McKim building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 for its architectural and historical significance, given Boston Landmark status by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 2000. It was the first major Beaux Arts building in the United States, and it was also the first large-scale urban library building in the nation. Murals Murals include a recently restored mural cycle by John Singer Sargent on the theme of The Triumph of Religion that is considered among the artist's masterworks; Edwin Austin Abbey's most famous work, a series of murals which depict the Grail legend; and paintings of the Muses of Inspiration and allegories of academic subjects by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. The Puvis murals, which were painted on linen and applied to the library walls using the marouflage technique, are his only murals outside of France. Monumental inscriptions McKim chose to have monumental inscriptions, similar to those found on basilicas and monuments