Daughter Nora as the Infant Psyche
Artist
Randolph Rogers
(American, 1825-1892)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1871
MediumMarble
Dimensions21 1/2 x 14 3/4 x 10 in. (54.6 x 37.5 x 25.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of James H. Ricau and Museum purchase
Object number86.518
Not on view
DescriptionOne of Rogers' rare portraits of family members, this bust of his sixth child Eleanora, nicknamed Nora, presents her in mythological guise, as the classical nymph Psyche. A personification of the soul, Psyche was loved by Cupid, who ultimately married her. Roger's sweetly affectionate image of Nora, about five years old at the time, shows her swathed in acanthus leaves. The butterfly on her shoulder is an age-old symbol of the immortality of the soul and an attribute specific to Psyche.Label TextRandolph Rogers American (1825-1892) Daughter Nora as the Infant Psyche, ca. 1871 Marble, 21 1/2 x 14 3/4 x 10 in. Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Gift of James H. Ricau and Museum purchase 86.518Exhibition History"The Ricau Collection," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., February 26 - April 23, 1989. “Angels and Tomboys: Girlhood in Nineteenth Century American Art,” Newark Museum, September 12, 2012 – January 7, 2013; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, February 16 – May 26, 2013; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, June 28 – September 30, 2013. Published ReferencesHolly Pyne Connor, et. al., _Angels and Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th-Century American Art_, exh. cat. (Petaluma, CA: Pomegranate, 2012), 160.
G. Nickerson
March 12, 1863
No Date