Tennyson's Princess

William Couper, born Norfolk, VA 1853-died Easton, MD 1942 · 1882

William Couper based Tennyson’s Princess on the main character in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem of 1847. The story tells of Princess Ida, who at first shuns marriage to establish a university for women, but later falls in love and marries a prince. Ida’s pursuit of an education instead of marriage was not widely accepted in the nineteenth century, and, two years after Couper modeled this piece, Gilbert and Sullivan wrote a musical satire based on Tennyson’s poem. Couper carved tobacco leaves around the bottom part of the sculpture, perhaps in honor of his home state of Virginia.