Fisher Girl

William Randolph Barbee, Fisher Girl, ca. 1858, marble, 32 1⁄8 x 31 7⁄8 x 23 5⁄8 in. (81.6 x 80.9 x 59.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1968.140
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Artwork Details

Title
Fisher Girl
Artist
Date
ca. 1858
Location
Dimensions
32 1⁄8 x 31 7⁄8 x 23 5⁄8 in. (81.6 x 80.9 x 59.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
marble
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — industry — fishing
  • Figure female — nude
  • Figure female — full length
Object Number
1968.140
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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."

Works by this artist (2 items)

Myra Tso Kaye, Bean Pot with Ear of Corn Appliqué, 1988, fired clay with piñon pitch, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Gibson Fahnestock, 1997.124.158
Bean Pot with Ear of Corn Appliqué
Artist
Date1988
fired clay with piñon pitch
On view
Myra Tso Kaye, Ram Pot, 1992, fired clay with piñon pitch, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Gibson Fahnestock, 1997.124.157
Ram Pot
Artist
Date1992
fired clay with piñon pitch
Not on view

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