Robert Louis Stevenson

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

1887–88, cast 1898 · Bronze · The American Wing

Saint-Gaudens met noted author Robert Louis Stevenson after reading his "New Arabian Nights," published in 1882. The sculptor recalled in his "Reminiscences": "My introduction to these stories set me aflame as few things in literature. So when I subsequently found that my friend, Mr. [Will Hicok] Low knew Stevenson quite well, I told him that, if Stevenson ever crossed to this side of the water, I should consider it an honor if he would allow me to make his portrait." After arriving in America, Stevenson agreed to sit for Saint-Gaudens, without hesitation. The author deemed the finished relief a "speaking likeness." He also thought the inscribed verses (a poem by Stevenson dedicated to Low, their mutual friend) "look[ed] remarkably well." Saint-Gaudens depicted Stevenson reclining in bed, cigarette poised in hand, with pieces of paper balanced on his knees. The first version of “Robert Louis Stevenson," cast in 1887, was rectangular. Saint-Gaudens later adapted it to a circular format that he considered superior. Numerous casts of this medallion were made during and after the artist’s lifetime. This cast was executed under Saint-Gaudens’ supervision and was made specifically for his student, Mary Lawrence (Tonetti).

Artist

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Date

1887–88, cast 1898

Medium

Bronze

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Anne Tonetti Gugler, in memory of her mother, Mary Lawrence Tonetti, 1981