William Wetmore Story

Overall the condition of the marble is good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The blade of the dagger is reattached. At least 3 of the pearls at the back of the neck are restored. There is some veining consistent with the material, including a faint vein to both sides of the nose running across the proper right eyebrow, and further veins to the proper left breast, the proper left elbow, the drapery by the dagger, one of the beads in the necklace, and notably to the drapery at the back. There are a few naturally occurring inclusions, including to both forearms, the top of the base, the drapery at the proper right hip, and the left upper arm by the sleeve. The tip of the lowest fold of the drapery at the back is restored and there is a small chip to the drapery around the legs at the back. There are a few chips to the bottom edges of the integral marble base, including both front corners, and there are several small chips and abrasions to the edges of the veined marble base.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"I have my head full of a new statue of Medea", wrote William Wetmore Story to one of his colleagues in October 1864. His vision had been born from an interest in conveying the extreme emotions that tormented the literary characters popular in his time and the sculptor's obsession with the Italian actress Adelaide Ristori, a woman as much admired in artistic circles for her passion as for her distinctly sculptural features, who portrayed the Greek sorceress in numerous plays. The result is a masterpiece in which Story simultaneously reached his compositional and conceptual summit: the mythical Medea, about to exact a terrible revenge on her adulterous husband Jason, is imbued with the classical beauty and mastery of marble that runs throughout Story's work, but what makes the work memorable is Medea’s frozen attitude, paused as she balances a brute murder and love in her mind. The present unpublished marble seems to be the only version that Wetmore Story made under life size. Even though Jan Seidler Ramirez suggests that Wetmore Story changed the base and the fall of the drapery around the hip of Medea for the three life-size versions of Medea carved after the original from 1866, the present marble is actually more closely based on her first incarnation. Perhaps it served as a memento of the figure’s great success 10 years after the first version was completed.

RELATED LITERATURE
K. Greenthal, P. M. Kozol and J. Seidler Ramirez, American figurative sculpture in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, 1986, pp. 122-127