Lot 12: William Walcutt (1819- circa 1882-1895)

'Musadora' inscribed 'Wm Walcutt Sculpt/N.Y. 1868 Musadora [sic]' (along the base) white marble 641/4 in. (163.3 cm.) high NOTES Walcutt was born in Columbus, Ohio and studied in various cities including New York, Washington, London and Paris. He had a studio in New York and worked in Cleveland, Ohio from 1859-1860 where he executed the Oliver Hazard Perry Monument. The subject of the present work, Musidora, is a character from James Thomson's The Seasons (1726-1730). Musidora, along with Damon, appear in Summer, one of the volumes that comprise The Seasons . Damon is in love with Musidora, but she has not reacted to his advances. Damon, on a sweltering summer day, accidently witnesses Musidora disrobe and bathe naked in a stream. Walcutt, in the present work, portrays the following moment as told by Thomson: "As from her naked limbs of glowing white,/Harmonious swelled by nature's finest hand,/In folds loose-floating fell the fainter lawn,/And fair exposed she stood.".