The Children of Jacob H. Schiff

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

1884–85, carved 1906–7 · Marble · The American Wing

Saint-Gaudens excelled at the art of relief sculpture—modeled forms raised in varying degrees from a two-dimensional background. In this ambitious double portrait of Mortimer Leo (1877–1931) and Frieda Fanny (1876–1958) Schiff, the artist’s technical command is evident, from the delicate, sketchy treatment of the Scottish deerhound’s wiry fur to Mortimer’s fully rounded foot extending over the edge of the plinth into the viewer’s space. The three-dimensional illusion is further enhanced by the architectural structure within which the children are framed. Their father, Jacob H. Schiff, was a prominent New York banker and philanthropist, who paid for the carving of this replica for the Metropolitan Museum in 1905.

Artist

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Date

1884–85, carved 1906–7

Medium

Marble

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Jacob H. Schiff, 1905