Head of Etta Cone

William Zorach, Head of Etta Cone, 1943, cast plaster on plaster base, 148 129 34 in. (35.521.624.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.152

Artwork Details

Title
Head of Etta Cone
Date
1943
Dimensions
148 129 34 in. (35.521.624.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar
Mediums
Mediums Description
cast plaster on plaster base
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait female — Cone, Etta — head
Object Number
1968.154.152

Artwork Description

William Zorach modeled this portrait of Etta Cone from life. He traveled to Baltimore, where she and her sister Claribel lived and operated a private museum that housed their extraordinary art collection. The sisters grew up in a wealthy family; Clara studied medicine and Etta was the housekeeper until her mother died. In the 1890s they befriended Leo and Gertrude Stein, who introduced them to leading modern artists including Matisse and Picasso. The Cones soon began to divide their time between Baltimore, where they held salons at their home, and Europe, where they traveled and collected art. Zorach was very pleased with this portrait, but thought Cone, who had been sketched by Henri Matisse, disliked it. She was “convinced that she looked like these drawings,” Zorach claims. “They too were a likeness but I couldn’t see her through the eyes of Matisse.”

Works by this artist (744 items)

William Zorach, Innocence (Figure of Girl - Dahlov), 1928, cast and patinated plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.143
Innocence (Figure of Girl — Dahlov)
Date1928
cast and patinated plaster
On view
William Zorach, Head of Dr. W.E.B. Dubois, 1956, cast plaster on plaster base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.141
Head of Dr. W.E.B. Dubois
Date1956
cast plaster on plaster base
On view
William Zorach, Head of Abraham Walkowitz, 1943, plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.130
Head of Abraham Walkowitz
Date1943
plaster
On view
William Zorach, Two Marys (Empyrean Children), 1960, cast and patinated plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.133
Two Marys (Empyrean Children)
Date1960
cast and patinated plaster
On view

More Artworks from the Collection

W. Clark Noble, Charles William Eliot Medal, 1924, plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1924.10.2
Charles William Eliot Medal
Date1924
plaster
Not on view
William Zorach, Fidelity, ca. 1950, cast plaster relief, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1971.449.22
Fidelity
Dateca. 1950
cast plaster relief
Not on view