Fisher Girl

Copied William Randolph Barbee, Fisher Girl, ca. 1858, marble, 32 1831 7823 58 in. (81.680.959.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1968.140
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Fisher Girl
Date
ca. 1858
Dimensions
32 1831 7823 58 in. (81.680.959.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
marble
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure female — nude
  • Occupation — industry — fishing
  • Figure female — full length
Object Number
1968.140

Artwork Description

William Randolph Barbee created Fisher Girl while working in Florence, Italy, around 1858. Barbee returned to the United States soon after and enjoyed great acclaim for this sculpture. Owing to its popularity in the United States, Fisher Girl was copied several times over the years. Barbee created the figure’s idealized body in the neoclassical style, inspired by the ancient Greek and Roman works he encountered in Italy. Her modest pose and fish net, however, are rendered in a natural, lifelike way that charmed Barbee's early audience. One contemporary critic from the New York Leader described the mesh Fisher Girl holds as "one of the most perfect triumphs of the chisel."