The Joy of the Waters

TitleThe Joy of the Waters

Artist Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880 - 1980)

Date1920

MediumBronze

DimensionsOverall: 46 × 13 1/4 × 12 1/2 in. Other (Sculpture): 43 1/2 × 11 × 11 1/2 in. Other (Base): 2 1/2 × 11 1/4 × 13 1/4 in.

SubmissionNA diploma presentation, October 7, 1929

Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY

Object number36-S

Label TextFrishmuth created two versions of The Joy of the Waters. The 61-inch high version was created in 1917, and the smaller 44-inch version here dates from three years later. The artist preferred the 1920 version. She found that in the reduced size the rhythm and the spirit of the design were better expressed by her model Desha’s body type (Janet Ransome served as the model for the 1917 version). Desha was the artist’s favorite model. Frishmuth related that most of her “figures express motion, and this girl is wonderful. She can do anything I tell her. Some of the poses can only be held for a moment but she can reproduce them exactly.”