The stories of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson—Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—made him immensely popular in America, where he counted many artists among his friends. He posed for Saint-Gaudens in September 1887 in New York. Stevenson's fine profile directly faces the figure of Pegasus, the flying horse from classical mythology symbolizing artistic inspiration. A large memorial to Stevenson in St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh was derived from this composition.