Mercury and Turtle

Albert E. Harnisch

1862; carved 1879 · Marble · The American Wing

Little is known about Harnisch's career as a sculptor. He was a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he studied with the French sculptor Joseph A. Bailly. Before establishing a studio in Rome in 1869, he exhibited several works at the Pennsylvania Academy, including "Mercury and Turtle" in 1862. That may have been a plaster model, which the sculptor then took to Italy with him, and translated to marble in 1879. The youthful Mercury, identified by his cap sits with head bent, peering downward.

Artist

Albert E. Harnisch

Date

1862; carved 1879

Medium

Marble

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. George K. Livermore, 1982