Browse Items (86 total)
- Collection: Permanent Sculpture Collection
Sort by:
Amalie Weiss Joachim (1839-1899), plaster, 1867
Joseph Joachim, the Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor, and his wife, a noted contralto, commissioned these portrait busts. The iron tacks in the bust of Frau Joachim are part of a process called pointing, in which the stonecutter takes…
Anna Elisabeth Wernze Ney, painted plaster, 1855
After finishing art school, Ney returned to her home in Münster, where she created these bas-relief medallions of her parents. These are among Ney’s earliest works in the museum. Plaster medallian, signed "E. Ney" under the collar. Painted bronze.…
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), plaster, modeled 1859; this cast 1896
In 1857, when Ney opened her Berlin studio, she set out to persuade the famous philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer to model for a portrait bust. Famously reclusive, Schopenhauer originally refused the offer. Through her own persistence, Ney was able to…
Benedette Tobin (1849-1901), plaster, 1893
Benedette Brace Tobin was one of Ney’s most committed Austin supporters. As president of the Ladies’ World’s Fair Association of the World’s Columbian Exposition, Tobin was instrumental in Ney’s receiving the commission for the statues of Sam…
Bride Neill Taylor, portrait medallion, plaster, 1897
Bride Neill Taylor was known to be Ney's agent and close friend who wrote the first biography of Ney. Her husband, Tom Taylor, was Ney's business manager. There is no known marble version of this object. Inscription: "Elisabet Ney fec. Austin,…
Carrie Pease Graham (1851-1882), marble, modeled 1895, cut 1896-97
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…
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…
Cast of Lorne’s left ear, 1886
Ney created many plaster casts using friends and family members as models, such as this ear of Lorne and clasped hands of Lorne and Cenci, the family’s lifelong house keeper. Some, such as the large nose (said to be modeled after Michelangelo’s…
Cast showing musculature of shoulder and arm (mass produced), n.d.
Arm Muscles, a manufactured plaster cast study showing muscles of the upper shoulder. The assumption held by the majority suggests this object was a study aid and not created by Ney herself.
Clasped hands (possibly Lorne and Cenci), 1880-86
This model features a pair of clasped hands, which are thought to have been those of Lorne and Cencie. Crescentia Simath, or Cencie, served as Elisabet Ney and Edmund Montgomery's long-time housekeeper. She moved several times with the couple, even…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Edmund Montgomery Portrait (1835-1911), Marble, 1904
Marble portrait of Edmund Montgomery, modeled 1864, cut 1895-1904. Soon after their marriage on the Portuguese island of Madeira, Ney modeled a plaster bust of her husband. The inscribed date indicates the year the plaster was modeled, from which…
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.
Elisabet Ney, Self-Portrait Bust, plaster, 1903
Plaster self-portrait bust. Study for the marble bust carved in 1903.
Elizabeth Wentzel-Heckmann (1833-1914), plaster, 1896
Ney made this bust on a trip to Berlin in 1896. Elizabeth Wentzel-Heckmann wears the golden collar of the Wilhelm-Orden, reading WILHELMUS T REX (for King Wilhelm), an exclusive award granted for her contributions to the social and civic life of…
Ella Dancy Dibrell (1862-1920) plaster, 1900
This portrait medallion depicts Ney’s friend and supporter Ella Dancy Dibrell, who purchased Formosa at Ney’s death and was one of the founders of the Texas Fine Arts Association.
Francis R. Lubbock (1815-1905), marble, modeled 1895; cut 1895-97
One of the first portrait busts that Ney executed in her Austin studio was that of the former Texas governor Francis Lubbock (1861-63). Along with his wife, Gov. Lubbock became one of the many public figures who strongly supported Ney’s work.…
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…
Friedrich Wöhler (1800-1882), plaster, 1868
Friedrich Wöhler was professor of medicine, chemistry, and pharmacy at the University of Göttingen. As a frequent attendee at his lectures, Ney was given the opportunity to execute this bust of him.
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…