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Helen Ruthven Waterston

Edmonia Lewis, born Greenbush (now Rensselaer), NY 1844-died London, England 1907

Edmonia Lewis often carved portraits of her patrons, either for a commission or as an expression of thanks. This piece memorializes Helen Waterston the daughter of the poet and abolitionist Anna Quincy Waterston and Reverend Robert C. Waterston, who died at age seventeen. The Waterstons 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.

Date

ca. 1866

Type

Sculpture

Medium

carved marble

Department

SAAM

Institution

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Object number

saam_1983.95.181

Credit

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Richard Frates