Head of a Woman

possibly 1880s

Auguste Rodin

Sculptor, French, 1840 - 1917

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G1-C

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    plaster

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mrs. John W. Simpson

  • Dimensions

    overall: 6.2 x 4.6 x 5.1 cm (2 7/16 x 1 13/16 x 2 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.5.24

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Acquired possibly 1905 from the artist by Mr. and Mrs. John W. Simpson, New York;[1] gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] In a letter to Rodin written on 31 October 1905 (Musée Rodin Archives, Paris), just after the Simpson's return from Paris, Kate Simpson mentioned small, fragile works which she left with a craftsman to have repaired. Presumably these were recent gifts and perhaps the little head was among them.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1946

  • Rodin: Sculpture, Drawings, Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1946, no. 16, as Study of Woman's Head.

1965

  • Wax Sculptures by Degas, Sculptures and Drawings by Rodin, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965-1966, no cat.

1981

  • Rodin Rediscovered, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1981-1982, no. 81.

Bibliography

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 169.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 149, repro.

1987

  • Ambrosini, Lynne, and Michelle Facos. Rodin: The Cantor Gift to the Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn, 1987: 181.

1994

  • Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 203, repro.

2000

  • Butler, Ruth, and Suzanne Glover Lindsay, with Alison Luchs, Douglas Lewis, Cynthia J. Mills, and Jeffrey Weidman. European Sculpture of the Nineteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 335, color repro. 336.

Wikidata ID

Q63809286

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