Puck on a toadstool

Neoclassicism produced a significant number of women sculptors, many of whom were American by birth. Among them, Harriet Hosmer enjoyed perhaps the greatest celebrity, entertaining dignitaries and connoisseurs in her Roman atelier with the practical aplomb of a 'grand master'.

Hosmer was a pupil of (and is displayed with a work by) the Welsh sculptor John Gibson, himself a pupil of the grandest of all neoclassical sculptors, Antonio Canova. Her work was widely collected, often on the basis of an interest in her gender as much as her considerable professional merits. She adapted continental neoclassicism to a personal vision steeped into the classical philosophies of a democratic nation.

Capable of producing work on a large scale and to specific order, she was especially proficient in the execution of public monuments. Her smaller works such as this 'Puck on a toadstool' (also known simply as 'Puck') were frequently issued in multiples to accommodate demand - and to bring in much needed funds when her father could no longer support her practice.

Hosmer has here brought to life the mischievous sprite from Shakespeare’s 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream'. 'Puck' was a huge commercial success and Hosmer subsequently spoke of the figure as ​her 'son', not least given he brought the artist 'his weight in silver'.