Washington Allston

TitleWashington Allston

Date1839

MediumPlaster with gray paint

DimensionsOverall: 21 × 15 × 9 in.

Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY, Purchase, 1843

Object number22-S

Label TextClevenger's bust of Allston, of which this is the original model, was executed on a commission voted by the trustees of the Boston Athenaeum in the summer of 1839.
Allston sat for the bust in his Cambridgeport studio, allowing his nephew George W. Flagg to paint his portrait at the same time. Allston was impressed by the sculptor's ability and personality. In 1847 the American Art-Union borrowed the Academy's bust for almost a year, using it as the model for an Allston medal to be cast in silver and bronze and distributed to members. Hundreds were distributed by the Art-Union beginning in 1847, and the finished medal was exhibited in the Academy annual the following year.