Lot Essay
Born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1853, William Couper studied at the Cooper Institute, New York, before moving to Munich in 1874 and entering the Academy of Fine Arts and the Royal College of Surgery. Due to ill health he left for Italy the following year and while in Florence became acquainted with the sculptor Thomas Ball (d. 1911), a compatriot from Boston. The latter invited Couper to work in his studio and study under him, an offer which was gladly accepted. There, Couper devoted his time principally to portraiture and ideal works such as the present figure of Psyche (1882), The Coming of Spring (1883; see Christie's New York, 24 May 1995, lot 45, for a one-half size reduction of this work) and Beauty's Wrath for Valour's Brow (1884). In October 1885 Couper travelled to Paris and London to exhibit some of the above works, including Psyche. With the influence of its editor, Mr Thomas, the sculptures were shown at the art gallery of the London Graphic Magazine and then at the Royal Academy. Copies of some of the works were commissioned and Couper arranged for an art dealer (probably Bellman and Ivey of Bond Street) to keep a bust and two bas-reliefs for display. It is not certain whether there was just the one marble version of Psyche, or whether the work was replicated. It is therefore conceivable that the present marble is that which is listed as having been sold, like many of Couper's other works, through Tiffany & Co., New York (see Couper, p.95).
Couper's style is essentially Florentine in manner and continues on from that of earlier American predecessors in Italy such as Thomas Crawford (d.1857) and Hiram Powers (d.1873). However, unlike the reserve and concentration on sculptural line prevalent in the works of the latter two neo-classicists, Couper's oeuvre, following the current trend among his Italian contemporaries, is characterised by a wealth of detail and marvellously-carved accessories. Thus, in the figure of Psyche, the beautiful maiden is shown just as she is about to uncover the vase in which the gift of beauty from Persephone to Venus is held. Kneeling and concealing her actions behind her raised left knee, she looks to her side, half innocently, half mischievously, checking that no-one shall witness her revelation of the goddess's secret.
Couper's style is essentially Florentine in manner and continues on from that of earlier American predecessors in Italy such as Thomas Crawford (d.1857) and Hiram Powers (d.1873). However, unlike the reserve and concentration on sculptural line prevalent in the works of the latter two neo-classicists, Couper's oeuvre, following the current trend among his Italian contemporaries, is characterised by a wealth of detail and marvellously-carved accessories. Thus, in the figure of Psyche, the beautiful maiden is shown just as she is about to uncover the vase in which the gift of beauty from Persephone to Venus is held. Kneeling and concealing her actions behind her raised left knee, she looks to her side, half innocently, half mischievously, checking that no-one shall witness her revelation of the goddess's secret.