ticketsMember | Make a donation

Robert Fulton (1765–1815)

1803–4
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 553
This bust depicts one of the last of many Americans to be sculpted by Houdon, the French master portraitist whose earlier images of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin are embedded in our national consciousness. A painter first and an inventor second, Fulton sat for Houdon while visiting Paris in a fruitless attempt to enlist funding for his submarine invention several years before the ultimately successful Hudson River voyage of his steamship Clermont. The bust appears to have been commissioned by poet and diplomat Joel Barlow, a close friend of Houdon residing in Paris. In this apparently unique model, the handsome subject's air of vigor and informality is emphasized by the insouciance of his flaring overcoat lapels; later, buttoned-up versions of the bust echo the graver quality of Houdon's portrait of Barlow, with which the Fulton portrait originally was paired.

A fitting coda to our already stellar collection of Houdon's pre-Revolutionary sculpture, this lively image also differs from the artist's Empire-era portraits of Europeans, which conform to a more severe Neoclassical mode. It may express the aging sculptor's view of the American spirit unfettered by Old World manners.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Robert Fulton (1765–1815)
  • Artist: Jean Antoine Houdon (French, Versailles 1741–1828 Paris)
  • Date: 1803–4
  • Culture: French, Paris
  • Medium: Painted plaster
  • Dimensions: Overall, incl. socle (approx. field measurement): 27 1/2 x 15 x 13 1/4 x 27 in. (68.6 x 38.1 x 33.7 cm); Ht. without socle: 21 1/2 in. (54.6 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Wrightsman Fund, 1989
  • Object Number: 1989.329
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Column for display of Roman Emperor bust, Plaster, painted in imitation of marble, French
Column for display of Roman Emperor bust
French
17th century (?)
Robert Fulton (1765–1815), Jean Antoine Houdon French, Bronze, French
Robert Fulton (1765–1815)
Jean Antoine Houdon
Jno. Williams, Inc. Bronze Foundry, New York
early 20th century cast, after model of 1803
Joel Barlow (1754–1812), Jean Antoine Houdon French, Plaster, French
Joel Barlow (1754–1812)
Jean Antoine Houdon
18th century
Georges-Louis-Leclerc, comte de Buffon (1707–1788), Jean Antoine Houdon French, Tinted stucco, French
Georges-Louis-Leclerc, comte de Buffon (1707–1788)
Jean Antoine Houdon
1782
George Washington (1732–1799), Jean Antoine Houdon French, Bronze, dark brown patina, French
George Washington (1732–1799)
Multiple artists/makers
19th–early 20th century, cast after a model of 1788

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.