Lot 178: John Talbott Donoghue (1853-1903)

John Talbott Donoghue (1853-1903)
'The Young Sophocles Leading the Chorus of Victory after the Battle of Salamis'
inscribed 'JDonoghue Sc' and 'F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR.' (on the base)
bronze with brown patina
44½ in. (113 cm.) high
Cast circa 1890.

T. Tolles, et al., American Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. I, New York, 1999, pp. 342-44, another example illustrated.

Private collection, New York.
Private collection, Larchmont, New York, acquired from the above, 2001.

Entering the Chicago Academy of Design in 1875, John Talbott Donoghue was a unique artist for his time. A relentless classicist, his work focused not on the gritty realism and social critique made famous by Auguste Rodin and his contemporaries, but rather on the timeless perfection of classical Greek sculpture. While working abroad in France and Rome, 'The Sophocles Leading the Chorus of Victory after the Battle of Salamis' won the gold medal at the 1880 Paris Salon, making Donoghue one of the most successful American artists under the age of thirty. Though his works incorporate ancient Greek and Roman aesthetics, Donoghue's meticulous hand creates a sense of animation, emotion and movement.