Mildred Howells
medalist
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
(Dublin, 1848 - 1907, Cornish, New Hampshire)
subject
Mildred Howells
(American, 1872 - 1966)
Date1897
Place MadeUnited States, North America
MediumGilded bronze
Dimensions7.2 cm (2 13/16 in.)
ClassificationsMedals and Medallions
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS27w15
eMuseum ID724899
EmbARK ObjectID12607
TMS Source ID1683
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryMildred Howells (1873-1966) was a painter, watercolorist, and poet and the daughter of the novelist William Dean Howells (1837-1920). Isabella Stewart Gardner was acquainted with William Dean Howells and collected several of his books for her library. She also clipped articles about him from newspapers including a charming picture of him with his grandchildren.
Isabella and William had many mutual friends including the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. On 2 May 1897 Saint-Gaudens wrote to William Dean Howells suggesting that he and Mildred sit for a portrait. Shortly thereafter, Saint-Gaudens began work in his New York studio creating three separate reliefs including a double portrait and two medallions of Mildred. This medallion, and one other of the same size and subject in a private collection, show Saint-Gaudens's sensitive modelling of Mildred's fine features.
Isabella placed this portrait in the Sargent/Whistler Case in the Long Gallery alongside correspondence from Saint-Gaudens and other contemporary artists in her circle.
Isabella and William had many mutual friends including the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. On 2 May 1897 Saint-Gaudens wrote to William Dean Howells suggesting that he and Mildred sit for a portrait. Shortly thereafter, Saint-Gaudens began work in his New York studio creating three separate reliefs including a double portrait and two medallions of Mildred. This medallion, and one other of the same size and subject in a private collection, show Saint-Gaudens's sensitive modelling of Mildred's fine features.
Isabella placed this portrait in the Sargent/Whistler Case in the Long Gallery alongside correspondence from Saint-Gaudens and other contemporary artists in her circle.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 249.
Susan West Day. "Two Medals by Saint-Gaudens." Fenway Court (Aug. 1968), pp. 9-16, ill. 12.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston: 1977), pp. 160-61, no. 203.
Susan West Day. "Two Medals by Saint-Gaudens." Fenway Court, vol. 2, no. 2 (Aug. 1968), pp. 9-16.
John Dryfhout. The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Hanover and London, 1982), pp. 232-33, no. 168.
Emamanuelle Héran. Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1848-1907: Un maître de la sculpture américaine. Exh. cat. (Musée des Augustins, Toulouse, 1999), pp. 184-85, no. 94.
Tanya Karpiak. "The medallic secrets of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum." The Medal (Autumn 2014), pp. 17-18, fig. 6.
Elizabeth Reluga, "Commemorating Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 16 April 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/commemorating-robert-gould-shaw-54th-massachusetts-regiment
Susan West Day. "Two Medals by Saint-Gaudens." Fenway Court (Aug. 1968), pp. 9-16, ill. 12.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston: 1977), pp. 160-61, no. 203.
Susan West Day. "Two Medals by Saint-Gaudens." Fenway Court, vol. 2, no. 2 (Aug. 1968), pp. 9-16.
John Dryfhout. The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Hanover and London, 1982), pp. 232-33, no. 168.
Emamanuelle Héran. Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1848-1907: Un maître de la sculpture américaine. Exh. cat. (Musée des Augustins, Toulouse, 1999), pp. 184-85, no. 94.
Tanya Karpiak. "The medallic secrets of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum." The Medal (Autumn 2014), pp. 17-18, fig. 6.
Elizabeth Reluga, "Commemorating Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 16 April 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/commemorating-robert-gould-shaw-54th-massachusetts-regiment
MarksNotesInscribed, signed and dated (obverse): MILDRED HOWELLS MDCCCXCVII A ST G
ProvenanceNotesEntered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection after 1897.
