Diana (The Hunt)

Details

Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (1880-1980) and Karl Illava (1896-1954)
Diana (The Hunt)
inscribed '©/HARRIET FRISHMUTH 1922 KARL ILLAVA' and 'Amer Art F'dry N.Y.' (along the base)
bronze with greenish-brown and black patina
25 in. (63.5 cm.) high on a 1 ¾ in. (4.4 cm.) marble base
Modeled circa 1921-22; cast by 1924.

Provenance

E.A. Milch, Inc., New York.
Mrs. William Korn, New York, acquired from the above, 1924.
By descent to the late owner from the above.

Literature

National Sculpture Society, Exhibition of American Sculpture, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1923, p. 331.
C.N. Aronson, Sculptured Hyacinths, New York, 1973, pp. 114-21, another example illustrated.
J. Conner, J. Rosenkranz, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works, 1893-1949, Austin, Texas, 1989, p. 40.
J. Conner, L.R. Lehmbeck, T. Tolles, F.L. Hohmann III, Captured Motion: The Sculpture of Harriet Whitney Frishmuth: A Catalogue of Works, New York, 2006, pp. 47, 71, 71n54, 84, 161-63, 243, no. 1920:10, another example illustrated.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

William Haydock

whaydock@christies.com +212 707 5938

Lot Essay

The present work is one of an edition of 14.

Diana (The Hunt) is Harriet Whitney Frishmuth's only collaboration with another artist, the sculptor Karl Illava. Best known for producing the 107th Infantry Memorial on 67th Street in New York City's Central Park, Illava was responsible for modeling the wolves while Frishmuth sculpted Diana herself. According to Frishmuth's longtime secretary and companion Ruth Talcott, "The story behind The Hunt is that a struggling young sculptor named Karl Ulava [sic] asked Whitney if she would model a Diana leaping along with his running wolfhounds. He thought this would help him get established. Whit agreed, had Desha pose, modeled the Diana, paid for the bronze castings and deducted the costs and divided the balance with Karl Ulava [sic]. " (as quoted in C.N. Aronson, Sculptured Hyacinths, New York, 1973, p. 115)

More from American Art

View All