Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney

 

Born 1877, New York, NY

Died 1942, New York, NY

 

Caryatid is a sketch for one of the figures in a marble fountain presented to McGill University of Montreal, in 1931, as a symbol of international good will.  The fountain was originally modeled for the Arlington Hotel in Washington, DC.  The three caryatid figures support a large basin upon their heads, forming a tripod-like pedestal over which water pours, spilling into a catch basin at their feet.  In 1913, it was awarded honorable mention at the Paris Salon, and received the National Arts Club Prize of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors in 1914.  A bronze version of the fountain is in Lima, Peru, and castings of the single Caryatid are also in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

Caryatid

Bronze, 1913

23 x 5 x 5 in.

Signed: Gertrude V. Whitney 1913

Founder’s mark: C. VALSUANI CIRE PERDUE

S.1936.040