Wilson Homer: The Art Of Choice Research Assignment

Art
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Art
The art of choice is that of Wilson Homer. This is a piece that was done by an artiste that went by the name William Rudolph O’Donavan. Rudolph lived through the years 1844 and 1920. The sculpture that consists of the bust of Homer, made of bronze from 1876 and cast in the year 1923. Both Homer and O’Donovan had been close friends. They were actually into ventures together, such as the Tile Club. They were the founding members of the Club. This was a collegial artist’s group and they both had the chance to work in the New York’ Tenth Street Studio Building. The naturalistic model of the bust of his friend Homer was made from life. This earned his acclaimed recognition for this after it was exhibited at the National Academy of design in the year 1878("William Rudolph O'Donovan | Winslow Homer | The Met", 2018). Given the fact that the sculpture was modeled in the year 1876, it can be considered to be 141 years and 8 months. This is close to one and a half Century ago when the sculpture was first unveiled. In most of the cases, the casts that were made from bronze were referred to as Bronze sculptures in reference to style. This was a common style in the early and mid-19th Century.
‘Homer (1836 – 1910), one of America’s greatest realist painters, and O’Donovan maintained a close friendship; they were founding members of the Tile Club, a collegial artist’s group, and both worked in New York’s Tenth Street Studio building. O’Donovan modeled his naturalistic bust of Homer from life, earning his acclaim for it after it was exhibited at the National Academy of Design on 1878.’ ("William Rudolph O'Donovan | Winslow Homer | The Met", 2018)
The subject of the sculpture is to commemorate a good friend that O’Donovan had in Homer. This is a sculpture that captures the very features of a friend. The face of a man that lived in the 19th Century. The sculpture was made by William Rudolph O'Donovan (1844–1920). He was born in the Preston County in Virginia. It was here that he taught himself how to sculpt. The sculptor served in the confederate army before he opened a studio in New York City ("William Rudolph O'Donovan | Winslow Homer | The Met", 2018). It was here that he was able to make some of the most memorable pieces such as the one on discussion in this paper; Winslow Homer. Now owned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the piece is one of the best sculptures of the time. Before the museum, the piece of art was owned by the wife to O’Donovan, Mary Corcoran O'Donovan. This was the case of ownership until the year 1923. Looking at the piece, it is easy to understand the brilliance of the artiste; ...