Mildred Howells

Art Historical Context

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one of America's foremost sculptors of the Gilded Age, crafted this intimate silvered bronze medallion titled *Mildred Howells* in 1897. Depicting the daughter of renowned novelist William Dean Howells a classical profile view, the 2⅞-inch diameter plaquette exemplifies Saint-Gaudens' mastery of portrait reliefs. His Beaux-Arts style, realism with elegant idealism, captures Mildred's refined features with a lifelike grace, evoking ancient Roman coins while celebrating contemporary American literary circles. The silvered bronze medium—bronze coated with a thin silver layer—lends a luminous, jewel-like quality, enhancing the medal's portability and prestige as a personal token. Saint-Gaudens often created such plaquettes for friends and patrons, making this work a window into elite cultural exchanges of the era. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, it highlights his pivotal role in elevating sculpture to public and private art forms. A thoughtful 2009 gift from Jean Gibran in memory of her brother, poet and sculptor Kahlil Gibran, connects this piece across generations of artistic legacy, bridging 19th-century realism with 20th-century modernism. Visitors will appreciate its delicate beauty up close.

About the Artist

Augustus Saint-Gaudens · 1848–1907

Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907) was an Irish-born American sculptor widely regarded as the greatest American sculptor of the nineteenth century. Born in Dublin to a French father and Irish mother, he was brought to New York City as an infant. He trained as a cameo cutter, studied at the Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design, and then traveled to Paris, where he studied at the École de...