Figure drawing of a young woman standing in ancient dress next to a column on the left.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The woman (Athena) faces left in profile with both her arms raised as she decorates a column. A thin piece of fabric hangs in her hands, as she ties it around the top of the column and looks to the left at the column, no expression. She’s wearing sleeveless drapery robes that cover her feet except for a toe peeking out, and a helmet-style headdress. She and the column are framed inside a rectangle, as she stands atop two steps, the column is slightly taller than the woman.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1949.116
People
John La Farge, American (New York, NY 1835 - 1910 Providence, RI)
Title
Pallas Athena, Study for Felton Memorial Window, Memorial Hall, Harvard Univ.
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Pallas Athena Decorating a Column with a Fillet in Memory of the Deceased, Study for the Felton Window, Memorial Hall, Harvard University
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1898
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/308258

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Graphite on buff wove paper, mounted to cardboard
Dimensions
image: 29.5 x 21.2 cm (11 5/8 x 8 3/8 in.)
mount: 50.3 x 38.2 cm (19 13/16 x 15 1/16 in.)
actual: 48.2 x 34.9 cm (19 x 13 3/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: mount, u.l., black ink: Approved: C. F. Adams 2nd Treas. H. C.
  • inscription: mount, lower edge, black ink: Do not touch, or rub the surface of this drawing!

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Jeannette Dwight Bliss (Mrs. George Theodore Bliss), New York, 1911, bequest; to her daughter Susan Dwight Bliss, 1924, gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1949

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Miss Susan Dwight Bliss
Accession Year
1949
Object Number
1949.116
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Henry A. La Farge, Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of John La Farge, Unpublished (n.d.), card 941
  • Julie L. Sloan and James L. Yarnall, "John La Farge and the Stained-Glass Windows in Memorial Hall at Harvard University", Antiques (April 1992), vol. 41, pp. 642-51., pp. 642-651

Exhibition History

  • An Exhibition of the Work of John La Farge, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 03/23/1936 - 04/26/1936

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu