Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907)

William Evarts Beaman in his Fourth Year

Details

Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907)
William Evarts Beaman in his Fourth Year
inscribed with initials in monogram 'ASG fecit' (lower right)--inscribed with title and dated '1885' (lower center)
bronze mounted on panel
28½ x 26½ in. (72.4 x 67.3 cm.)

Provenance

Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York.

Literature

J.H. Dryfhout, The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Hanover, New Hampshire, 1982, p. 149, illustration of another example

Sale room notice

Please note the following work is inscribed 'Gorham Co Founders' (along the rim)

Please note the following additional provenance:
The artist.
Charles Cotesworth Beaman, son of the artist.
Mrs. Charles Cotesworth Beaman, until 1986.

The present work was cast under the direction of the artist's widow as a second example for the Beaman family. The original work remains in the sitter's family. Another bronze of the subject, together with the plaster model, is in the collection of the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site.

Lot Essay

According to John H. Dryfhout, William Evarts Beaman (1881-1845) was approximately the same age as Homer Saint-Gaudens, the artist's son. The medallion was presented the first summer that Saint-Gaudens was in Cornish, New Hampshire, where the artist kept a studio throughout his career. The portrait was given in place of the rent that might have been paid for Beaman's house and property, which Saint-Gaudens later purchased.

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