Sappho

Erastus Dow Palmer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Palmer depicted the ancient Greek lyric poet Sappho "as she stands contemplating vacancy, with her hair and drapery moved by the sighing winds of Lesbos, and a heart overflowing with grief from neglected love." Although it may be difficult today to identify this celebrated figure, contemporary viewers familiar with classical literature would have recognized her. The Albany-based Palmer presented Sappho at an 1856 solo exhibition in New York, following the practice of both local and expatriate artists marketing major works to prospective clients. He received at least twelve orders for the sculpture in plaster and marble, including this version carved from Italian marble.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art