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Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)

first modeled 1766
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 512
The classicizing bust of the author of the celebrated Tristram Shandy, who sat for Nollekens in Rome, is said to have launched the sculptor's career. Nollekens sold replicas as independent portraits, or paired, as here, with his bust of Alexander Pope.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)
  • Artist: Joseph Nollekens (British, London 1737–1823 London)
  • Date: first modeled 1766
  • Culture: British
  • Medium: Marble
  • Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 21 3/4 × 12 × 10 × 7 1/2 in., 59 lb. (55.2 × 30.5 × 25.4 × 19.1 cm, 26.8 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, John T. Dorrance Jr. Gift, in memory of Elinor Dorrance Ingersoll, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.275.2
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Alexander Pope (1688–1744), Joseph Nollekens British, Marble, British
Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
Joseph Nollekens
Louis François Roubiliac
late 18th century
William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806), Joseph Nollekens British, Marble, British
William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806)
Joseph Nollekens
1807
Eve Bewailing the Death of Abel, Joseph Nollekens British, Terracotta, British
Eve Bewailing the Death of Abel
Joseph Nollekens
1800–1810
Design for "The Three Captains Memorial", Joseph Nollekens British, Watercolor over graphite, surrounded by a gold line, on paper backed by canvas (stretched on modern wooden frame)
Design for "The Three Captains Memorial"
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1784
Sabine Houdon (1787–1836), Jean Antoine Houdon French, White marble on gray marble socle, French, Paris
Sabine Houdon (1787–1836)
Jean Antoine Houdon
1788

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