Richard Watson Gilder, Helena de Kay Gilder, and Rodman de Kay Gilder
modeled 1879, cast ca. 1883–84
Medium
Plaster
Dimensions
8 5/8 x 16 7/8 in. (21.9 x 42.9 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of David and Joshua Gilder, 2002
Accession Number
2002.445
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the heart of The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art sits a tender family portrait in plaster: *Richard Watson Gilder, Helena de Gilder, and Rod de Kay Gilder* by Augustus Saint-Gaud. Modeled in 1879 and cast around 1883–84, this 8⅝ × 16⅞-inch relief captures the profiles of prominent New York literati Richard Watson Gilder—editor of *Scribner's Monthly* (later *The Century*)—his artist-wife Helena de Kay Gilder, and their young son Rodman. Saint-Gaudens, a leading figure in American sculpture, infuses the work with the realistic precision of his Beaux-Arts training, blending cl...
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...