Nikh-Eiphnh

Copied Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Nikh-Eiphnh, 1902, plaster, 955 in. (22.912.712.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1968.76
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Nikh-Eiphnh
Date
1902
Dimensions
955 in. (22.912.712.7 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure female — head
  • Study — sculpture model
  • Allegory — other — triumph
  • Monument — memorial — Sherman
Object Number
1968.76

Artwork Description

Nikh-Eiphnh (Peace-Victory) is a study for the head of Victory for the General William Tecumseh Sherman monument in New York. Augustus Saint-Gaudens was awarded the commission in 1891 and began work on the sculpture six years later. He first sculpted the head of Victory after Hettie Anderson, a model in New York, but was dissatisfied with the result, which showed too much “personality.” The Museum’s piece is a plaster cast of his second attempt. He preferred this one, but ultimately decided it did not fit with the monument and went back to the first version. The artist later described the full-length figure of Victory as “the grandest Victory anybody ever made—Hoorah!”