Lot 371
AUGUSTUS SAINT-GAUDENS (1848-1907)
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, MODELLED1887-88, THIS VERSION CIRCA 1900
Auction: Day Two inc FL Griggs : A Cotswold Legacy | Lots 334 to 654 | Thursday 16th October from 10am
Description
bronze, cast inscription TO ROBERT LOUIS/STEVENSON/ AUGUSTUS/SAINT-GAUDENS/ MDCCCLXXXVII and with several stanzas from Underwoods by Stevenson in the upper half, inscribed COPYRIGHT BY SAINT-GAUDENS, lower centre, set within oak frame
“It is rare to find a work by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one of great sculptors of Beaux-Arts New York selling in the UK. This roundel of Robert Louis Stevenson was one of his most enduring works. The sculptor was a notorious procrastinator agonising over his work and was very often late with commissions. The subtle variations in the versions of this plaque are testament to his perfectionism. The story of his life and his relationship with the Golden Age architect Stanford White lend an additional interest to this lot.” - John Mackie, Head of Design
Dimensions
roundel 30cm diameter (frame size 53cm x 47cm)
Footnote
Literature: Dryfhout J.H., Fox B., Augustus Saint-Gaudens: The Portrait Reliefs, New York, 1969, nos. 39-41, other examples illustrated.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907) was an American sculptor born in Dublin on 1 March 1848. He was raised in New York and later travelled to Europe for further training and artistic study before returning to the United States. Saint-Gaudens became known for his public monuments commemorating figures of the American Civil War. In addition to his sculptural work, he was interested in numismatics and designed the $20 “double eagle” gold coin for the United States Mint between 1905 and 1907, as well as the $10 “Indian Head” gold eagle coin.
Saint-Gaudens admired Robert Louis Stevenson’s New Arabian Nights (1882) and told their mutual acquaintance, Will Low, that he would be willing to model a portrait of Stevenson should the author visit the United States. This opportunity arose in 1887–88, when Stevenson (1850–1894) sat for Saint-Gaudens in New York and later in Manasquan, New Jersey. The relief depicts Stevenson writing in bed, a practice necessitated by his tuberculosis, and is accompanied by an inscription of a poem by Stevenson dedicated to Low and published in 1887.
The first version of the relief, a rectangular bronze, was cast in 1887. The circular format—produced in three sizes and preferred by Saint-Gaudens—continued to be made into the mid-1920s in various iterations, reflecting the artist’s tendency to introduce subtle changes to his designs. The original frame may be designed by Stanford White, the Gilded Age architect who was his great friend and collaborator. In 1904 Saint-Gaudens created a version of the plaque as a memorial to Stevenson in Edinburgh. Installed in St Giles’ Cathedral, it remains the only memorial to Stevenson in his native Scotland.