Diana (The Hunt)

Diana (The Hunt) represents 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)

The original owner of the present cast, Charles Aronson, recalled when he and his wife Josephine first saw Diana (The Hunt) at Frishmuth’s home in Norwalk, Connecticut: “Frishmuth’s Diana [The Hunt] does something I have yet to see done by anyone else: combine the epitome of lyricism with great strength, strength seldom seen in sculpture devoted to power alone. Joe and I were instantly and absolutely captivated." (Sculptured Hyacinths, p. 115) Sensing their desire to acquire the work, Talcott gave the sculpture to the Aronsons on the spot, and subsequently ordered another version for Frishmuth to replace it.

The present cast was also featured in the movie Vamping from 1984, starring Patrick Duffy.