Details

Title

The White Lady of Avenel

Artist/Maker

Joseph Mozier (American, 1812–1870)

Date

1864, carved 1866

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

55 x 20 1/2 x 17 inches

Credit

Gift of the West Foundation in honor of Gudmund Vigtel and Michael E. Shapiro

Accession #

2010.75

Location

On View - Stent Family Wing, Level 3, Gallery 304

Mozier drew this subject from Sir Walter Scott’s sixteenth-century novel The Monastery, set in the Protestant Reformation. The White Lady’s spirit watches over the protagonist’s family and guards their Bible in a protective flame. British literature—particularly with historical themes—was popular in Victorian America, and many sculptors were inspired by its combination of narrative and sentiment. As did many of his contemporaries, Mozier set up his studio in Italy for better access to marble within a milieu of carving traditions dating back to the early Roman era.

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