John Pierpont Morgan Memorial – Scorpio

Paul Manship, John Pierpont Morgan Memorial--Scorpio, 1915-1920, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1965.16.108
Paul Manship, John Pierpont Morgan Memorial--Scorpio, 1915-1920, bronze, 8 1⁄4 x 4 1⁄8 x 1⁄8 in. (21.1 x 10.5 x 0.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1965.16.108

Artwork Details

Title
John Pierpont Morgan Memorial – Scorpio
Artist
Date
1915-1920
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
8 1⁄4 x 4 1⁄8 x 1⁄8 in. (21.1 x 10.5 x 0.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Subjects
  • Mythology — classical — Scorpio
  • Animal — insect — scorpion
  • Monument — memorial — Morgan
Object Number
1965.16.108
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1965.16.108

Artwork Description

John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) was a prominent Gilded Age financier. When Pierpont died in 1913, Paul Manship began working on a memorial tablet commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which eventually received almost forty percent of Pierpont’s collection of medieval and Renaissance art. This uniface cast represents one of the signs of the zodiac that line the sides of the Morgan tablet, which appears in the southeast wall of the museum’s vestibule. Manship intended these figures to represent the “Cycle of the Year” or the “Compass of Life.”

Works by this artist (2 items)

Jane Sauer, Elaborate Layers, 1985, waxed linen thread and acrylic paint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eleanor T. and Samuel J. Rosenfeld, 2002.8.13
Elaborate Layers
Artist
Date1985
waxed linen thread and acrylic paint
Not on view
Jane Sauer, Concurrence, 1985, waxed linen thread and acrylic paint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eleanor T. and Samuel J. Rosenfeld, 2002.8.12
Concurrence
Artist
Date1985
waxed linen thread and acrylic paint
Not on view

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Box of Falling Stars
Artist
Date1984
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Lia Cook, Florentine Fresco, 1992, linen, rayon, acrylic paint, and dyes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Bernard Koteen Revocable Trust, 2013.85.1, © 1992, Lia Cook
Florentine Fresco
Artist
Date1992
linen, rayon, acrylic paint, and dyes
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Karin Birch, Night Sky, 1997, linen, embroidery thread, glass beads, and acrylic paint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of friends of the artist, 1998.127.2, © 1997, Karin Birch
Night Sky
Artist
Date1997
linen, embroidery thread, glass beads, and acrylic paint
Not on view
Karin Birch, Decline, 1997, linen, embroidery thread, glass beads, and acrylic paint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of friends of the artist, 1998.127.1, © 1997, Karin Birch
Decline
Artist
Date1997
linen, embroidery thread, glass beads, and acrylic paint
Not on view