Bust of Harriet Beecher Stowe, by Noted 19th Century Sculptor Anne Whitney, Acquired by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ College Museum of Art
The ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ College Museum of Art (BCMA) announced today that it has acquired an 1893 plaster work by sculptor Anne Whitney (1821–1915) of the noted author and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896). Whitney was a prominent New England artist—as well as a teacher, writer, and abolitionist—whose works include several major public sculpture commissions, including of Samuel Adams (1880) and Harriet Martineau (1883). The work is an important addition to the BCMA’s collection, reflecting Stowe’s connections both to Brunswick, Maine, and ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ College, where her husband taught. The creation of this work reveals several interesting historical connections that enhance the importance and meaning of this bust. The sculpture was commissioned by Stowe’s sister, Isabella Beecher Hooker, who is best known for her decades-long campaign supporting women’s right to vote. The selection of Anne Whitney as the artist reflects an alignment of views: Whitney’s sculptures often espoused her sympathy toward social and political inequities, including the challenges faced by newly emancipated African Americans, as well as the political disenfranchisement of women.
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