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Diana

Founder Cast by Preissmann Bauer & Co. German
1892–93, cast 1928
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 700
Aware of Saint-Gaudens’s desire to model a female nude, the architect Stanford White (1853–1906) gave him the commission for a weathervane for the tower of Madison Square Garden (demolished 1925). The first, eighteen-foot-tall sculpture proved too large and was replaced in 1894 by a streamlined version, five feet shorter. It became one of New York’s most popular landmarks, and the sculptor capitalized on its success by issuing numerous reductions. This cast is a half-size model of the second version, produced from a cement cast once owned by White. Saint-Gaudens eschewed the traditional full-bodied interpretation of Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt, focusing instead on simple, elegant lines and a strong silhouette.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Diana
  • Artist: Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American, Dublin 1848–1907 Cornish, New Hampshire)
  • Founder: Cast by Preissmann Bauer & Co. (German, Munich)
  • Date: 1892–93, cast 1928
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Bronze, gilt
  • Dimensions: 101 3/4 x 53 1/2 x 14 1/8 in. (258.4 x 135.9 x 35.9 cm)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1928
  • Object Number: 28.101
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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Diana, Karl Theodore Bitter American, born Austria, Bronze, American
Diana
Karl Theodore Bitter
Roman Bronze Works
1910
Amor Caritas, Augustus Saint-Gaudens American, Bronze, gilt, American
Amor Caritas
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
1880–98, cast 1918
Diana, Frederick William MacMonnies American, Bronze, American
Diana
Frederick William MacMonnies
E. Gruet
1888–89; cast 1890
Diana, Augustus Saint-Gaudens American, Bronze, American
Diana
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
E. Gruet
1893–94, cast 1894 or after
Davida Johnson Clark, Augustus Saint-Gaudens American, Plaster, shellac, American
Davida Johnson Clark
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
1886

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