Mutual Surprise
Edwin Willard Deming American
Cast by Roman Bronze Works
An illustrator, painter, and sculptor, Deming specialized in the depiction of animal life in the American West. Bears were a favorite subject and he modeled them in pursuits both violent and amusing. The sculptor invested humor in an unexpected encounter between two creatures by emphasizing the contrasting sizes of a bear cub and a snapping turtle. This light moment is enhanced by the questioning pose of the open-mouthed turtle and the grinning visage and looming stance of the gawky bear. Statuettes depicting the gentler side of nature were produced by other contemporaneous animal sculptors such as Eli Harvey, Edward Kemeys, and Alexander Phimister Proctor.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
