Mary Justina de Peyster
late 1880s
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
27 x 14 1/2 x 9 in. (68.6 x 36.8 x 22.9 cm)
Classification
Bust
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of General John Watts de Peyster, 1907
Accession Number
07.113
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Mary Justina de Peyster is a graceful marble bust sculpted by George Edwin Bissell the late 1880s, capturing the refined poise of its namesake, a member of New York's prominent de Peyster family. Standing at 27 inches tall, this life-sized portrait exemplifies the era's fascination with classical revival in American sculpture. Bissell, a leading figure in late 19th-century portrait, specialized in realistic yet idealized depictions of elite sitters, blending Beaux-Arts precision with subtle emotional depth. Carved from fine white marble—a medium evoking ancient Greek and Roman ideals of bea...