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Hannah Rohr Tuffs

1872
Not on view
During Saint-Gaudens’s years as a cameo cutter’s apprentice, he helped his employer meet the demand for carved shell broaches, bracelets, and other wearable keepsakes. His portrait of New York attorney John Tuffs (1990.78.1a,b) is believed to be his earliest surviving work. More than ten years after ordering the portrait of her husband, Hannah Rohr Tuffs (1829-1905) commissioned her pendant cameo when visiting Rome with her sister. By this time Saint-Gaudens established as a professional sculptor, cutting cameos for additional income. He expertly rendered her features in sharp profile. Her attire reflects a prim simplicity, but the elaborate hairstyle imparts an elegant touch. The pair is housed in original velvet-lined leather cases.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hannah Rohr Tuffs
  • Artist: Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American, Dublin 1848–1907 Cornish, New Hampshire)
  • Date: 1872
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Shell
  • Dimensions: 2 x 1 1/2 in. (5.1 x 3.8 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Sheila W. and Richard J. Schwartz Gift and Morris K. Jesup Fund, 1990
  • Object Number: 1990.78.2a, b
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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Eva Rohr, Augustus Saint-Gaudens American, Marble, American
Eva Rohr
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John Tuffs, Augustus Saint-Gaudens American, Shell, American
John Tuffs
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
ca. 1861
Anna Watson Stuart, Daniel Huntington American, Oil on canvas, American
Anna Watson Stuart
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ca. 1862
Cameo, George W. Jamison American, Helmet-conch shell, gold, and enamel, American
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William Rose
ca. 1835
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