Collections: American Art: Winter

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Winter

This statue of a shivering child personifies the winter season and, appropriately enough, was once part of an outdoor decorative scheme installed near the icehouse on a Philadelphia estate. William Rush began his career as an artisan-carver of figureheads for ships and eventually established himself as a sculptor of considerable note through important public and private commissions. He originally painted this sculpture to simulate stone, perhaps in an effort to affiliate his art with a more respected academic tradition.

• Artist: William Rush, American, 1756-1833
• Medium: Pine
• Dates: 1810
• Dimensions: 28 1/16 x 21 x 9in. (71.3 x 53.3 x 22.9cm)
• Collections: American Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in American Identities: A New Look, Making Art: Centennial Era, 5th Floor
• Accession Number: 42.242
• Credit Line: Dick S. Ramsay Fund
• Image: Overall, 42.242_view2_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
William Rush (American, 1756-1833). Winter, 1810. Pine, 28 1/16 x 21 x 9in. (71.3 x 53.3 x 22.9cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund , 42.242 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 42.242_view2_PS2.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: Carved statue of a seated child wrapped in a cloak; figure huddles with cold and turns slightly to the proper right; holds cloak below neck with crossed arms; some curly hair peeks out from under the hood; proper right leg is bare and crossed over the covered proper left leg; figure seated on round base that looks like a rock. Condition: Good, some cracks throughout the sculpture.