Bust of Washington Allston
Artist
Edward Augustus Brackett
(American, 1818–1908)
Dateabout 1844
Mediumwhite marble
Dimensions66 x 38.1 cm (26 x 15 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of the family of the late Edward Augustus Brackett
Object number1908.34
Label TextThis portrait bust of the painter Washington Allston is one of two that Edward Brackett completed of this subject. The artists were friends, and Allston praised Brackett's "rare power of expressing character and intellect" in his sculpture. Brackett based this portrait on a death mask that he made of his fellow artist in 1843. This version was kept by the sculptor, and the second on given to Allston's family.
Brackett was born in Maine and spent his youth in Cincinnati, where he studied and copied the sculpture of Hiram Powers. Brackett moved to New York and exhibited at the National Academy in 1840. Despite receiving several important private commissions, Brackett was unable to make a living as an artist and abandoned sculpture in 1873.On View
On view
Hiram Powers
designed 1846; sculpted 1846–1847
