Joy of the Waters (Joie de l'eau)

Details

HARRIET WHITNEY FRISHMUTH (1880-1980)
Joy of the Waters (Joie de l'eau)
inscribed 'HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH/Sc. 1912' and with foundry mark 'ROMAN BRONZE WORKS. INC. N.Y.' (along the base)
bronze with greenish brown patina
61 in. (154.9 cm.) high
Modeled in 1917

Literature

C.N. Aronson, Sculptured Hyacinths, New York, 1973, pp. 26, 107-09 (another example illustrated).
J. Conner, J. Rosenkranz, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works, 1893-1939, Austin, Texas, 1989, pp. 38, 40, 41, 42n13.
C.S. Rubinstein, American Women Sculptors: A History of Women Working in Three Dimensions, Boston, Massachusetts, 1990, p. 147 (another example illustrated).
T. Tolles, ed., American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1865 and 1885, vol. II, New York, 2001, p. 640 (another example referenced).
J. Conner, L.R. Lehmbeck, T. Tolles, F.L. Hohmann III, Captured Motion, The Sculpture of Harriet Whitney Frishmuth: A Catalogue of Works, New York, 2006, pp. 28-29, 37, 66, 79n80, 86, 200, 236, 277-78, no. 1917:3 (another example illustrated).

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Julia Jones Head of Sale

jjones@christies.com +212 974 4474

Lot Essay

Harriet Frishmuth’s Joy of the Waters, modeled in 1917, is an elegant and charming sculpture exemplary of the exuberant female nude figures for which the artist is acclaimed. Frishmuth’s desire to portray the “vibrant expression of the female form in self-assured abandon” is embodied in this vivacious bronze cast. (Captured Motion, The Sculpture of Harriet Whitney Frishmuth: A Catalogue of Works, p. 28) Joy of the Waters was conceived in two sizes, the sixty-one inch model produced in 1917 and the forty-four inch model in 1920. The present example of the larger model is from an edition of forty-four, which, considering its size and cost, speaks to Frishmuth’s pride in the model as well as its enthusiastic reception among collectors.

More from A Treasured History: The Stream Family Collection

View All