Louise

Longman modeled “Louise” in summer 1902, when she was working as a studio assistant to Daniel Chester French at his residence, Chesterwood, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The adolescent sitter, Louise Russell French (1887–1962) was French’s young cousin, the daughter of Mary Winnifred Babson and William Bates French. As a young girl, Louise lived in Washington, D.C., and frequently visited Chesterwood. The bust length “Louise,” mounted on a low socle, recalls Renaissance prototypes by Donatello, Verrocchio, or Francesco Laurana. This association is further enhanced by the sitter’s classic beauty and the decorative fleur-de-lis on her dress. Longman carved the Metropolitan’s marble in 1910. She often selected this medium for her portraits and insisted on finished her marbles after they were roughed out by others.