Young Octavian

Edmonia Lewis, Young Octavian, ca. 1873, marble, 16 ³⁄₄ x 8 ¹⁄₄ x 6 ¹⁄₄ in. (42.5 x 21.0 x 15.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.180

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Artwork Details

Title: Young Octavian
Artist: Edmonia Lewis
Date: ca. 1873
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
Luce Foundation Center
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3rd Floor
/
20A
Dimensions: 16 ³⁄₄ x 8 ¹⁄₄ x 6 ¹⁄₄ in. (42.5 x 21.0 x 15.9 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Mediums: marble
Mediums Description: marble
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Portrait male — Octavian — bust
Occupation — other — aristocrat
Italian
Object Number: 1983.95.180
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.180

Artwork Description

Young Octavian, or Augustus, shows the adopted heir of Julius Caesar. It is a copy of a sculpture in the Vatican galleries that dates from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Many artists copied this piece, and it became so popular that tourists could even order reproductions from a catalogue. Edmonia Lewis’s version was considered to be one of the best available, as described by a descendant of one of her patrons: “[It] seemed to all of us the best reproduction of the original then offered by any artist in Rome.”