Maria de Acosta Sargent
primary
Anna Coleman Ladd
(Philadelphia, 1878 - 1939, Boston)
foundry
Gorham Manufacturing Company
(established Providence, 1831)
Date1915
Place MadeUnited States, North America
MediumBronze
Dimensions53.3 x 43.8 x 21.6 cm (21 x 17 1/4 x 8 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS11e15
eMuseum ID722691
Previous NumberS11e15
EmbARK ObjectID13482
Previous NumberS11e15.a-b
TMS Source ID2412
Last Updated11/21/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryAnna Coleman Ladd was born in Philadelphia in 1878. She studied sculpture in Europe and moved to Boston after her marriage in 1905. Ladd became one of the most prolific sculptors in the city and even published two novels. In 1915, her Triton Babies Fountain was installed in the Boston Public Garden, where it remains today. Ladd and Isabella were friends, and the two exchanged many letters—including one that references this bust that Isabella purchased directly from the artist. The model for this work was Maria de Acosta Sargent, the wife of Andrew R. Sargent, presumably a distant relative of the artist John Singer Sargent. Shortly after Ladd made this bust, she found a novel use for her sculptural skills. In late 1917 she founded the American Red Cross Studio for Portrait-Masks to provide prosthetic masks for men who had suffered severe facial injuries during World War I.
BibliographyNotes"New 'Macknight' Room." Unidentified Boston Newspaper (Boston, 22 Nov. 1915).
Anna Coleman Ladd. The Work of Anna Coleman Ladd (Boston, 1920), n.p. (on "Portrait of a Lady," a marble replica of this bronze)
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 242.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 74.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), p. 163.
Diana Seave Greenwald, "Anna Coleman Ladd: Art Helping Veterans," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,9 November 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/anna-coleman-ladd-art-helping-veterans
Anna Coleman Ladd. The Work of Anna Coleman Ladd (Boston, 1920), n.p. (on "Portrait of a Lady," a marble replica of this bronze)
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 242.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 74.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), p. 163.
Diana Seave Greenwald, "Anna Coleman Ladd: Art Helping Veterans," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,9 November 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/anna-coleman-ladd-art-helping-veterans
MarksNotesInscribed (below left arm): A.C. LADD SC
Foundry mark inscribed (on back of cloth below the right shoulder blade): GORHAM CO FOUNDERS
Inscribed (under side of base): 19 M 15 / Carrig Rohane Shop Inc. / Boston
Foundry mark inscribed (on back of cloth below the right shoulder blade): GORHAM CO FOUNDERS
Inscribed (under side of base): 19 M 15 / Carrig Rohane Shop Inc. / Boston
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the artist Anna Coleman Ladd (1878-1939), Boston for $1,000 on 27 July 1915.
