Artwork Details
- Title
- Head of a Woman
- Artist
- Date
- 1935
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 15 1⁄4 x 8 1⁄2 x 10 in. (38.7 x 21.6 x 25.3 cm.)
- Copyright
- © 1935, Lachaise Foundation
- Credit Line
- Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
- Mediums Description
- bronze on marble base
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Figure female — head
- Object Number
- 1986.6.51
Artwork Description
In 1906, with thirty dollars in his pocket and no knowledge of English, Lachaise left France for Boston in pursuit of the woman who would later become his wife. Head of a Woman is a stylized portrait of Isabel, his wife and muse. She was, he said, “the primary inspiration that awakened my vision and the leading influence that has directed my forces.”
Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014
Gaston Lachaise created his first sculpture of his wife, Isabel, just a few weeks after they met. Once they were married, she became the subject for numerous ideal busts and nude figures, including Head of a Woman, which was originally carved in 1918. The Museum’s piece was cast from a plaster version of the carving, and was probably completed after the artist’s death in 1935.
Exhibitions
