Permanent Sculpture Collection
Dublin Core
Title
Permanent Sculpture Collection
Description
The Elisabet Ney Museum houses the World’s largest collection of this remarkable woman’s work, spanning the 1850s through her death at the site in 1907, along with furnishings and ephemera.
Publisher
Elisabet Ney Museum: https://www.austintexas.gov/department/elisabet-ney-museum
Rights
For permission to reproduce, please contact the Elisabet Ney Museum: https://www.austintexas.gov/department/elisabet-ney-museum.
Type
Physical Object
Identifier
Permanent Sculpture Collection
Collection Items
Joseph Dibrell, marble bust, circa 1901
Joseph Dibrell, a Texas lawyer and politician, and his wife, Ella Dancy Dibrell, were good friends and supporters of Elisabet Ney. Following Ney's death in 1907, the Dibrells purchased the sculptor's Austin studio, Formosa, to preserve her legacy.…
Francis R. Lubbock, plaster, modeled 1895
Originally from South Carolina, Francis Lubbock moved to Houston, Texas, in 1837. After managing a general store and working as a rancher, Lubbock entered a career in politics. He was elected governor of Texas in 1861 and later served as a lieutenant…
Elisabet Ney, Self-Portrait Bust, plaster, 1903
Plaster self-portrait bust. Study for the marble bust carved in 1903.
Dr. David T. Iglehart (1835-1903), plaster, 1903
Fanny Iglehart commissioned Ney to create this bust of her recently deceased husband, a prominent Austin physician. With one photograph and recollected stories from the Igleharts’ daughter, Ney was able to complete the plaster in three days. The…
Sir Swante Palm (1815-1899), plaster, 1898-1899
Swante Palm was a Swedish-American diplomat and businessman who promoted Swedish settlement in Texas. He held a number of important positions in Austin, including postmaster and city councilman. Before his death he donated his extensive library to…
General Albert Sidney Johnston (1803-1862), plaster bust, 1901
The State of Texas commissioned Ney to create a monumental statuary piece of Albert Sidney Johnston for the Texas State Cemetery. The plan came about as early as the 1890s, but was not commissioned until 1901, and was fraught with difficulties. This…
Stephen Fuller Austin, bare chest (1793-1836), plaster, 1893 or 1903
Known as “The Father of Texas,” Stephen F. Austin brought the first 300 immigrant families to Texas to populate his settlement, the Austin Colony, in 1825; these families became known as the Old Three Hundred. In 1836, he was appointed by Sam…
Clasped Hands (Study for Lady Macbeth), 1899-1902
This study was one of many that Elisabet Ney executed while completing Lady Macbeth, in which she captures the Shakespearean character washing the metaphorical blood of King Duncan from her hands.
Skull (mass produced), n.d.
Plaster cast skull with missing teeth. It appears to have been used as a study aid for the artist, but there is no information regarding its origins. It looks to have a European stylization, but it may also be from her stay here in the United…
William Lambdin Prather (1848-1905), plaster, 1905-1906
As president of the University of Texas (1900-5), William Prather popularized the slogan “The eyes of Texas are upon you,” which became the title of the school’s official song. Prather’s death had an immense effect on Ney, who considered him “a dear,…
Sursum, marble, modeled 1864, cut 1866
After Ney established the original Formosa studio in Madeira, she modeled this sculpture using two boys living on the island as models. The statue was originally titled Genii of Mankind, but later retitled Sursum, the Latin word meaning “to uplift.”…
Stephen Fuller Austin, plaster, modeled 1893; cast 1902
During the summer of 1892, Ney set to work creating full-sized statues of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston to be displayed at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Both Texans had passed away, so Ney was unable to sculpt from life as she…
Samuel Houston, plaster, modeled 1893; cast 1902
Perhaps one of Elisabet Ney's most celebrated Texas works, this sculpture of Sam Houston was originally commissioned by the Texas legislature to be displayed alongside Stephen F. Austin at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In her…
William Polk Hardeman (1816-1898), plaster, 1893
Ney executed General Hardeman’s portrait bust during his term as the Texas Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds. Although she never discussed her motivation for creating this particular sculpture, Ney had previously written Hardeman to…
Dancing Maenad, plaster, 1895
Ney executed this statue as part of a competition sponsored by the last German emperor, Wilhelm II. German scholars had recently excavated the Acropolis and brought back fragments of the celebrated Pergamon Altar to reconstruct in Berlin. The…
Elisabet Ney, life cast mask, 1862
Cast of Elisabet Ney's face from 1862. Lifecast of Ney's face done by someone other than herself.
Reagan Ear Cast, 1895
Reagan's left ear cast with Reagan's name on the edge. Rutland reports that Ney was asked to visit Reagan in his office to cast his ear. In making the mold she was reported to have also caught some of his hair in the mold. When she pulled the cast…
Dr. Jacob Bickler, Death Mask, 1902
Death cast of Dr Jacob Bickler. Jacob Bickler (1849–1902) was a scholar, educator and president of the Texas State Teacher's Association. He was founder of the Boys' Texas German and English Academy and the co-educational Bickler Academy, both…
Life Cast of Elisabet Ney (Head and Shoulders), 1865
Life cast of Elisabet Ney's head and shoulders with eyes clsoed and cloth over the hairline. The nose has been chipped off.
Life Mask of Unknown Person (Study for Statue of Lady Macbeth), 1902
Cast of face and neck of unknown person, eyes closed.
Death Mask of Dr. William Lambdin Prather, 1906
Death Cast of William Prather. Man with closed eyes, full moustache and beard. Mask includes the face, ears, and neck, going down to the clavicle. Ney had enlisted Italian stoncutter, Cosimo Docchi, to work for her on the Lady Macbeth piece. She…
Steiner Burleson (1892-1899), plaster, 1899
Finished marble on display in Gallery Two, Texas Gallery
Carrie Pease Graham (1851-1882), plaster, modeled 1895
Ney befriended Lucadia Pease, the widow of governor Elisha Pease, shortly after arriving in Austin. The Peases owned a large estate, Woodlawn, located west of Shoal Creek. Ney often visited Woodlawn and became close to the Pease grandchildren. This…
Giuseppe Garibaldi, portrait bust, plaster, 1865
Giuseppe Garibaldi, plaster bust, herm style, unclothed. Broken in 1952 and reassembled. Executed from life in Caprera.
Daughter of Unknown Berlin Friend, relief portrait, plaster, 1896
Plaster relief of young girl, in rondel inside a square. Girl wearing hair pulled back, round neck gown, looking toward proper left. Profile view with face in high relief, vines or branches at bottom edge of rondel, half in circle and half out. Said…