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Poor Cupid
Edmonia Lewis, born Greenbush (now Rensselaer), NY 1844-died London, England 1907
Edmonia Lewis occasionally carved sculptures of mythical scenes, which were very popular with American tourists visiting Rome. Poor Cupid, or Love Ensnared, depicts the cherub with his hand caught in a trap as he reaches down for a rose. Frivolous sculptures like this appealed to the Victorian sentimentality of affluent Americans traveling around Europe.
- Date
- modeled ca. 1872, carved 1876
- Type
- Sculpture
- Medium
- marble
- Department
- SAAM
- Institution
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Object number
- saam_1984.156
- Credit
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alfred T. Morris, Sr.
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