Rev. Dr. Alexander Hamilton Vinton

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Rev. Dr. Alexander Hamilton Vinton, 1883, remodeled 1905, relief/metal: bronze, 35 ¹⁄₈ x 24 in. (89.1 x 61.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Donald C. Starr, 1970.40

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Artwork Details

Title: Rev. Dr. Alexander Hamilton Vinton
Artist: Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Remodeler: Louis Saint-Gaudens
Date: 1883, remodeled 1905
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 35 ¹⁄₈ x 24 in. (89.1 x 61.0 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Donald C. Starr
Mediums: bronze
Mediums Description: relief/metal: bronze
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Portrait male — Vinton, Alexander Hamilton — bust
Occupation — religion — clergy
Dress — ecclesiastical
Object Number: 1970.40
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1970.40

Artwork Description

Alexander Hamilton Vinton (1807-1881) was a prominent Episcopalian minister. He entered the ministry in 1828 after receiving his master’s in divinity from Yale. In 1877, after a long and influential career, Vinton left Emmanuel Church in Boston to retire to Connecticut with his wife. Four years later the parish commissioned Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create this commemorative portrait. In earlier versions, the sculptor represented Vinton at the pulpit with his arm raised in speech. The final version, however, does not present the rector as an orator, but as a scholarly theologian clasping a Bible to his chest, his fingers marking various pages.