Anstiss Derby Rogers Wetmore

Copied Hiram Powers, Anstiss Derby Rogers Wetmore, modeled 1843, plaster and metal pins, 16 1⁄4 x 16 1⁄2 x 9 in. (41.4 x 41.8 x 23.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.99
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Anstiss Derby Rogers Wetmore
Artist
Date
modeled 1843
Location
Dimensions
16 1⁄4 x 16 1⁄2 x 9 in. (41.4 x 41.8 x 23.0 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster and metal pins
Classifications
Subjects
  • Study — sculpture model
  • Portrait female — Wetmore, Anstiss Derby Rogers — bust
  • Portrait female — Wetmore, Anstiss Derby Rogers — nude
  • Portrait female — Shephard, William, Mrs. — bust
  • Portrait female — Shephard, William, Mrs. — nude
Object Number
1968.155.99
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1968.155.99

Artwork Description

Anstiss Derby Rogers married William S. Wetmore, a New York merchant, who commissioned this portrait three years after their wedding. It was probably Mrs. Wetmore’s wish to have her portrait done in the style of Proserpine, with her shoulders and chest uncovered. When the sculpture was completed, the nudity caused an uproar and the Wetmore family hid the piece from view. Anstiss Wetmore was the focus of even more scandal some time later when she left her husband and ran away to Europe with a coachman. Generations later, when the Wetmore property was handed over to a preservation society, the marble version of this piece was found hidden in the attic of the family home.