Young Mother

Modeled in 1896, when Bessie Potter Vonnoh lived in Chicago, Young Mother was the first and most popular of the artist's many depictions of mothers and children. Vonnoh's choice of subject demonstrates her interest in the work of Mary Cassatt, who typically painted women and children. The sculpture, originally cast in plaster, was widely exhibited and received critical acclaim for its impressionistic handling of form and emotional expressiveness. Young Mother was the first sculpture Vonnoh had cast in bronze after moving to New York in 1898. This is an early example produced at the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company, the foundry she used prior to the Roman Bronze Works; the latter foundry used the plaster Young Mother also on display here for its castings.