DCSIMG
Rip Van Winkle by Frederick MacMonnies / American Art
Larger Type
Smaller Type

Search Collections

Rip Van Winkle

1876-1880 Frederick MacMonnies Born: New York, New York 1863 Died: New York, New York 1937 fired terra cotta on wood base with glass dome 7 3/4 x 7 3/4 x 6 in. (19.7 x 19.7 x 15.3 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of Miss Marion E. Pelzer 1980.51.1 Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd Floor, Luce Foundation Center



Hear more about
Rip Van Winkle



Washington Irving’s short story “Rip Van Winkle” first appeared in The Sketch Book of 1819 and was performed onstage in 1865 by the actor Joseph Jefferson, who played the title role to critical acclaim. In the tale, Rip Van Winkle ventures out into the mountains and runs across some strangers who befriend him and ply him with liquor. He falls asleep and awakens to find that he has slept for twenty years and is an old graybeard. Frederick MacMonnies’ inspiration for the subject may have come from his visit to an art studio as a child, where he saw the sculptor John Rogers making statues of Rip Van Winkle.

Keywords

Ethnic - Dutch

Figure male - elderly - full length

Literature - Irving - Rip Van Winkle

sculpture

ceramic - terra cotta

wood

About Frederick MacMonnies

Born: New York, New York 1863 Died: New York, New York 1937

More works in the collection by
Frederick MacMonnies

Online Exhibitions

Hidden Treasures

Popular Links