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…
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.…
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…
Ney's cotton smock. She wore such smocks while sculpting and in daily life, alongside similarly utilitarian boots and pants. It opens on one side and has buttons at its collar. Due to wear and tear, it has yellowed and has several dark stains, as…
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…
Box with drawing implements, including charcoal and smudge tools. This object is part of the original 1909 collection, from when the Elisabet Ney Museum was first established.
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,…
Single cylinder alcohol and turpentine burning lamp. Made of brass, this piece has three soldered feet on the underside and a threaded interior base. A large spring is housed inside between two bass tubes. The lower rounded portion is oxidizing. The…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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.
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.