Helen Ruthven Waterston

Edmonia Lewis, born Greenbush (now Rensselaer), NY 1844-died London, England 1907 · 1866

Edmonia Lewis often carved portraits of her patrons, either for a commission or as an expression of thanks. This piece memorializes Helen Waterston the daughter of the poet and abolitionist Anna Quincy Waterston and Reverend Robert C. Waterston, who died at age seventeen. The Waterstons helped Lewis raise the funds to pay for the first marbles she carved in Rome. The sculpture shows an elegant young woman with a composed expression and a hint of a smile. The elaborate hairstyle and decorative clothing suggest a lady of wealth and importance in nineteenth-century society.