William Bewley Duncan

Olin Levi Warner

1879 · Bronze · The American Wing

William Bewley Duncan probably knew Warner through their mutual association with the art dealer and decorator Daniel Cottier, since Duncan was an illustrator for Cottier and Company. This medallion contains the essential elements of Warner’s mature portrait-relief style: circular shape, distinct outlining of form, strong modeling, and freely rendered inscription. Warner seldom strayed from the circular relief format, in part a result of his admiration for the portrait medallions of the early-nineteenth-century French sculptor David d’Angers. Within the round field, Duncan is posed facing right, the head sharply truncated at the neck, its underside in deep shadow. The resulting sense of high relief is emphasized in the heavy undercutting at the top of the head.

Artist

Olin Levi Warner

Date

1879

Medium

Bronze

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Bequest of Isabel D. Coe, 1973