Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Mrs. Robert Gilmor, Jr. (Sarah Reeve Ladson) |
Artist |
Greenough, Horatio |
Date |
1829 |
Medium |
marble |
Dimensions |
26 x 14 x 11 inches |
Signature |
NA |
Inscription |
NA |
Credit line |
Bequest of Leila Ladson Jones |
Accession Number |
1989.009 |
Collection |
Sculpture |
Sitter's dates |
ca. 1790 - 1866 |
Description |
Greenough, America's first native professional sculptor, was interested in sculpture in his boyhood. As a student at Harvard, class of 1825, he studied the classics and anatomy, and benefited from a close friendship with Washington Allston. Shortly after graduation he went to Italy (1825-7) to study under the leading neoclassical sculptors of the day. With the exception of several short visits to the United States he spent the remainder of his life abroad, mostly in Florence. His colossal and controversial statue of George Washington (1832-41) — semi-draped, wearing sandals and imperial in pose — gained him an international reputation. During 1828 Greenough undertook the model of Mrs. Gilmor in "Mr. Gilmor's library, finished in the Gothic style, receiving the light through a painted window. The air of art is around me." Gilmor was sufficiently pleased with the outcome and ordered a marble version which was completed in Italy and delivered in 1830. More subdued than Sully's romanticizing portrait of 1823, (Gibbes Museum of Art) the portrayal in the bust is one of controlled elegance. Notes: This text is adapted from Martha Severens "Selections from the Collection of the Carolina Art Association" published by the Carolina Art Association, 1977 |
Subjects |
Gilmor Sculpture woman Hairstyles Marble |
Image |
011\1989.09B.JPG |