Object Details
- Artist
- Edmonia Lewis, born Greenbush (now Rensselaer), NY 1844-died London, England 1907
- Sitter
- Helen Ruthven Waterston
- Luce Center Label
- Edmonia Lewis often carved portraits of her patrons, either for a commission or as an expression of thanks. This piece memorializes Helen Waterson the daughter of the poet and abolitionist Anna Quincy Waterston and Reverend Robert C. Waterston, who died at age seventeen. The Watersons helped Lewis raise the funds to pay for the first marbles she carved in Rome. The sculpture shows an elegant young woman with a composed expression and a hint of a smile. The elaborate hairstyle and decorative clothing suggest a lady of wealth and importance in nineteenth-century society.
- Luce Object Quote
- "Tis fitting that a daughter of the raceWhose chains are breaking should receive a giftSo rare as genius. Neither power nor place,Fashion or wealth, pride, custom, caste nor hueCan arrogantly claim what God doth liftAbove these chances, and bestows on few."Excerpt from "Edmonia Lewis," a poem by Anna Quincy Waterston, 1864
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Richard Frates
- ca. 1866
- Object number
- 1983.95.181
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Sculpture
- Medium
- carved marble
- Dimensions
- 11 7/8 x 7 1/4 x 5 1/8 in. (30.2 x 18.5 x 12.9 cm.)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- On View
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 17A
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- Portrait female\bust
- Record ID
- saam_1983.95.181
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7d90527b8-deaa-4340-9c89-716b4836926b
