Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (American, 1830-1908): A carved white marble figure of 'Puck' together with an unsigned companion pendant figure of 'Will o the Wisp' (third version) Circa 1864 The figure of Puck seated on a toadstool, with scallop shell headdress and bats-wings, holding a stag beetle in his right hand, his left hand resting on a lizard, on oak leaf square plinth base, titled to the front and signed to the rear H. Hosmer Fecit Roma, the figure of Will o the Wisp with flaming curling hair and bats-wings seated on an acanthus leaf rusticated pedestal and titled square plinth base, the toe of the former now lacking and the finger to the latter detached but present 81.5cm and 78cm high respectively (2) Footnotes: Provenance Phillips Son & Neal, Contents of Park Hall, Hayfield, Derbyshire, 5th April 1978. The present lot, comprising a pair of figures, one signed, the other unsigned but similarly attributed, are from a series of playful compositions by America's foremost female Neoclassical sculptor of the 19th century, Harriet Hosmer, based on themes of mystical folklore and playful literature. Hosmer created several conceptions in marble examining the idea of 'the fairy', with her depiction of Shakespeare's 'Puck' from A Midsummer Night's Dream perhaps being the most well-known of these which was conceived and first executed in 1855. The figure was to become so popular that it was replicated over thirty times. Copies were commissioned by a number of Royal patrons including Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) who visited Hosmer's studio in Rome and ordered a Puck for his rooms at Oxford. The sculptures were purposely designed on a small scale specifically for multiple replications in order appeal to upper-middle class patrons to grace their drawing rooms and parlours. The whimsical treatment of the subject matter however as married with high quality of workmanship which was intended to appeal to the most demanding of British and American clients By the time, Hosmer conceived the first of her three variations of her pendant figure to 'Puck', the figure of 'Will o' the Wisp'(from 1856, 1858 and 1864) she was on her way to becoming one of the most renowned and admired professional sculptors of her day, not only in American but also in Europe. Born in Watertown, Massachusetts, Hosmer's mother and three siblings died during her childhood. Despite being a delicate child she was encouraged and mentored by her physician father, Hiram Hosmer, to pursue a life outside the constraints of female society. As a result, and most unusually, she had a full academic education, physical training and was widely travelled. Hosmer's father encouraged her artistic vision and supported her wish to go to Rome to become the pupil of the sculptor John Gibson. When in Rome, Hosmer became friends with the ex-pat colony of European artists and writers that included Bertel Thorvaldsen, William Makepeace Thackeray Georges Eliot and George Sand. In Florence she was the frequent guest of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. She also importantly nurtured the talents of a group of American female artists which included Edmonia Lewis, Anne Whitney, Emma Stebbins and Vinnie Ream. It was this circle which the writer Henry James later called 'a sisterhood of American lady sculptors'. Literature Sherwood, Dolly, Harriet Hosmer: American Sculptor, 1830-1908, Pub. Columbia, Missouri, 1991. Kasson, Prof. Joy, Marble Queens and Captives: Women in Nineteenth-Century American Sculpture, Pub. Yale University Press, 1990. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TP TP For auctions held in Scotland: Lots will be moved to an offsite storage location (Constantine, Constantine House, North Caldeen Road, Coatbridge ML5 4EF, Scotland, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please refer to the catalogue for further information.

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