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Lot Essay
The monumental figure of Diana was originally conceived in 1886 as a weathervane for the tower of Stanford White's Madison Square Garden. The eighteen-foot figure proved oversized, unwieldy and imbalanced and, in 1892, was removed from the site. The figure was then installed atop the McKim, Mead and White pavilion at the Columbian Exposition, where it was later partially burned in a fire.
Saint-Gaudens revised his model and, in 1894, a second version was placed on top of the Madison Square Garden tower. Thirteen feet high, it is now in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This landmark sculpture was so notorious and popular that Saint-Gaudens immediately copyrighted the model and produced an edition of hand-modeled reductions in two sizes with variations in detail such as the base, sphere, bow and hair. The 31-inch version was cast by Aubry Brothers foundry in 1895; only six casts are known in this size. The smaller reduction of 21 inches (the present size), often on an elaborate tripod base, was produced by several American and French foundries as early as 1894, and continued to be cast by Saint-Gaudens’ widow after the sculptor’s death.
Diana is one of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' most celebrated models and exhibits all of the hallmarks of the sculptor's strongest forms. The only model of a female nude that the artist ever created, Diana represents Saint-Gaudens’ innovative approach to a classical subject, which garnered him distinction as a leader of nineteenth-century American sculpture.
Saint-Gaudens revised his model and, in 1894, a second version was placed on top of the Madison Square Garden tower. Thirteen feet high, it is now in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This landmark sculpture was so notorious and popular that Saint-Gaudens immediately copyrighted the model and produced an edition of hand-modeled reductions in two sizes with variations in detail such as the base, sphere, bow and hair. The 31-inch version was cast by Aubry Brothers foundry in 1895; only six casts are known in this size. The smaller reduction of 21 inches (the present size), often on an elaborate tripod base, was produced by several American and French foundries as early as 1894, and continued to be cast by Saint-Gaudens’ widow after the sculptor’s death.
Diana is one of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' most celebrated models and exhibits all of the hallmarks of the sculptor's strongest forms. The only model of a female nude that the artist ever created, Diana represents Saint-Gaudens’ innovative approach to a classical subject, which garnered him distinction as a leader of nineteenth-century American sculpture.