George Gordon, Lord Byron

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This portrait could date any time between the publication of Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–18), which brought the poet global fame, and his death in 1824. Byron’s physical attractions were acknowledged by many, but as one observer, Lady Blessington, said, “I am sure that if ten individuals undertook the task of describing Byron, no two, of the ten, would agree in their verdict respecting him.” The long nose, thinning temple hair, and unruly forelock are beyond question Byron’s, but his apparition in a toga does not seem to refer to any known painted or engraved likeness.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art