Erastus Dow Palmer

"Rebecca Knower" or "Virginia"

Marble
12 x 11-1/4 inches
Signed and Dated 1850

According to legend from the family of Hamilton Fish, this piece is of "Virginia", a character from a popular 19th century story by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. James Carson Webster in his catalogue raisonné was not in agreement with this but just that Fish owned a copy of this model is quite interesting. Fish was an extroidinary public figure. He was Governor of New York, Senator and Representative from New York and Secratary of State under Ulysses S. Grant. Beyond this Fish was an important art collector. He favored American neo-classical sculptures and owned several Palmers and at least one piece by Hiram Powers. More than this his home was decorated by Assciated Artists, Louis Comfort Tiffany's short lived design firm from the early 1880's. Tiffany himself desiged much of Fish's furniture.