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Bust of Lord Byron
Bertel Thorvaldsen (Danish, 1770–1844)
1821
Object Place: Europe, Rome, Italy
Medium/Technique
Stone; Marble
Dimensions
Overall (Dimensions of bust, width and depth at base): 45.1 x 23 x 17.5 cm, 30.8 kg (17 3/4 x 9 1/16 x 6 7/8 in., 68 lb.)
Other (Dimensions of socle): 14.6 x 23.5 cm (5 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.)
Other (Dimensions of socle): 14.6 x 23.5 cm (5 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of T. Jefferson Coolidge
Accession Number20.1628
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSculpture
DescriptionMarble bust with marble socle
InscriptionsMonogram on back of bust AT [with the T inside the A]
Provenance1821, sold by the artist in Rome to Joseph Coolidge (b. 1798 - d. 1879), Boston (original commission) [see note 1]; by descent to his son, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge (b. 1831 - d. 1920), Boston; 1920, gift of Thomas Jefferson Coolidge to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 21, 1920)
NOTES:
[1] This sculpture replicates Thorvaldsen's 1817 bust of Lord Byron (Royal Collection, Windsor Castle). Byron himself wrote in 1821 that "a young American named Coolidge called on me many months ago...and told me that he (Mr. Coolidge) had obtained a copy of my bust from Thorwal[d]sen at Rome to send to America." See 'In the Wind's Eye': Byron's Letter and Journals, ed. Leslie A. Marchand, vol. 9 (1821-1822), pp. 20-21, no. 25.
NOTES:
[1] This sculpture replicates Thorvaldsen's 1817 bust of Lord Byron (Royal Collection, Windsor Castle). Byron himself wrote in 1821 that "a young American named Coolidge called on me many months ago...and told me that he (Mr. Coolidge) had obtained a copy of my bust from Thorwal[d]sen at Rome to send to America." See 'In the Wind's Eye': Byron's Letter and Journals, ed. Leslie A. Marchand, vol. 9 (1821-1822), pp. 20-21, no. 25.