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Mrs. Olin Levi Warner

Founder Cast by Tiffany & Co.
1886–87, cast 1897–98
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774
In 1886, Warner married Sylvia (née Sylvie) Françoise Martinache (1858–1949) in New York. She was educated at schools in France and New York, including the Normal School (now Hunter College). As an aspiring art teacher, she studied at the Cooper Union where in 1878 she won a second prize in a drawing class that concentrated on copying antiquities taught by Warner’s friend Wyatt Eaton. Warner’s devotion to his wife is reflected in this sensitive portrait he modeled during the first few months of marriage. Sylvie Warner’s head is positioned frontally, with incised pupils gazing forward. Her fine features, including a straight nose, delicate lips, and long, graceful neck attest to her elegant beauty. The sculptor opted for an irregular termination on the front and sides of the bust that complements the gentle, sweeping folds of fabric around the sitter’s shoulders. This bust was one of eleven works by Warner given to the museum by the National Sculpture Society after the sculptor’s untimely death in 1896; the bronzes were cast by Tiffany and Company from his original plasters.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mrs. Olin Levi Warner
  • Artist: Olin Levi Warner (American, West Suffield, Connecticut 1844–1896 New York)
  • Founder: Cast by Tiffany & Co. (1837–present)
  • Date: 1886–87, cast 1897–98
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 22 1/4 x 8 3/4 x 8 in. (56.5 x 22.2 x 20.3 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of National Sculpture Society, 1898
  • Object Number: 98.9.6
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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William Bewley Duncan, Olin Levi Warner American, Bronze, American
William Bewley Duncan
Olin Levi Warner
1879
The Artist's Father and Mother, Olin Levi Warner American, Bronze, American
The Artist's Father and Mother
Olin Levi Warner
Tiffany & Co.
1879, cast 1897–98
Thomas Fenton, Olin Levi Warner American, Bronze, American
Thomas Fenton
Olin Levi Warner
Tiffany & Co.
1878, cast 1897–98
Colonel C. E. S. Wood, Olin Levi Warner American, Bronze, American
Colonel C. E. S. Wood
Olin Levi Warner
Tiffany & Co.
1891, cast 1897–98
John Insley Blair, Olin Levi Warner American, Bronze, American
John Insley Blair
Olin Levi Warner
Tiffany & Co.
1883, cast 1897–98

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