Poetry (bust of figure on front facade of New York Public Library

Paul Wayland Bartlett, Poetry (bust of figure on front facade of New York Public Library, ca. 1915, bronze, 27 ³⁄₄ x 22 ⁵⁄₈ x 11 ¹⁄₈ in. (70.5 x 57.6 x 28.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Armistead Peter III, 1958.11.14

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Artwork Details

Title: Poetry (bust of figure on front facade of New York Public Library
Artist: Paul Wayland Bartlett
Date: ca. 1915
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Luce Foundation Center
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3rd Floor
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20A
Dimensions: 27 ³⁄₄ x 22 ⁵⁄₈ x 11 ¹⁄₈ in. (70.5 x 57.6 x 28.2 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Armistead Peter III
Mediums: bronze
Mediums Description: bronze
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Allegory — arts and sciences — poetry
Figure female — bust
Study — sculpture model
Dress — historic — classical dress
Architecture Exterior — civic — New York Public Library
Object Number: 1958.11.14
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1958.11.14

Artwork Description

The full-length statues Philosophy and Poetry stand above the grand entrance of the New York Public Library. Paul Wayland Bartlett modeled six heroic figures for this commission---History and Philosophy, Romance and Religion, Poetry and Drama---to symbolize the different fields of knowledge represented in the library. These tall sculptures, designed to sit on a one-foot-wide shelf far above ground level, were carved in high relief to exaggerate the features of the figures.