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Audrey Munson

Audrey Munson
Munson with Buzzer the cat in 1915
Born Audrey Marie Munson(1891-06-08)June 8, 1891Rochester, New York, U.S.
Died February 20, 1996(1996-02-20) (aged 104)Ogdensburg, New York, U.S.
Resting place New Haven Cemetery
Nationality American
Occupation Artist's model, actress
Years active 1909–1921
Key:
Works for which Munson wastoo young to have posed
Works for which Munsonconfirmed she posed
Works for which Munson allegedlyposed, but without direct evidence
Panama-PacificInternational Exposition
Sculptor Title Image Year Location/GPS Coordinates Material Height Notes
Herbert Adams The Three Graces   1912 James McMillan Fountain,McMillan Reservoir,Washington, D.C. bronze 12 ft (3.7 m)(overall) The McMillan Fountain was disassembled for the1941 expansion of McMillan Reservoir. Thepieces spent decades in storage, and sufferedvandalism. Only the central figures and upperbasin remain.
Priestess of Culture   1914 Rotunda, Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff 51.5 in (131 cm) Adams was awarded a PPIE Medal of Honor for his sculpture.Eight identical goddess figures stood atop columnsinside the Rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts.Those now in place are reproductions.The two surviving original figures are in thecollection of the Exploratorium.
Robert Ingersoll Aitken Greenhut Mausoleum door   1913 tomb of merchandiser Joseph Greenhut,Salem Fields Cemetery,Brooklyn, New York City bronze   Stone, Gould & Farrington, architects
Gates Mausoleum door   1913 John Warne Gates Mausoleum,Woodlawn Cemetery,Bronx, New York City bronze   Stone, Gould & Farrington, architectsAitken was awarded a PPIE silver medal for his sculpture.
Panama-Pacific $50 U.S. Gold Coin   1915        
The Elements: Air   1915 Flanking stairs to sunken garden,Court of the Universe,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff    
The Elements: Earth  
Fountain of the Earth   1915 Court of the Universe,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Fountain of the Earth:
Karl Bitter Venus   c.1895 Library,Biltmore Estate,Asheville, North Carolina steel   Bitter's andiron figure of Venus for Biltmore was completed in 1895,when Munson was 4 years old.A life-sided Venus Coming from the Bath was photographed inBitter's studio in 1901, when Munson was 10 years old.
Venus de Milo (with arms)   by 1921 Noordeinde Palace,The Hague, Netherlands marble   Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands commissioned a Venus deMilo (with arms) from Bitter. Munson wrote that Bitter experimentedwith different arrangements of the arms, modeled the sculpture inclay, and carved it in marble himself.
Peace   1896–1900 Appellate Division Courthouse ofNew York State,35 East 25th Street,Manhattan, New York City     Bitter completed his work on the Appellate Courthouse in June1899, about the time Munson turned 8 years old.
Peace   by 1921       Munson wrote that she posed for Bitter for a sculpture of Peace(pictured), but it was not the Appellate Courthouse work.
Liberty Supported by the Law   1906–1910 East Pediment,Wisconsin State CapitolMadison, Wisconsin Bethel Vermontgranite 96 in (240 cm) East Pediment:
Bas relief: Diana   c.1910? Ballroom,George Jay Gould I Mansion,Manhattan, New York City marble   This may have been related to Bitter's famous 1910bronze of Diana:
Pomona or Abundance   plaster1898, 1915bronze1916(by Konti) Pulitzer Fountain,Grand Army Plaza,Manhattan, New York City bronze plaster24 in (61 cm)bronze84 in (210 cm) Pomona was a 24 in (61 cm) plaster maquette atthe time of Bitter's April 9, 1915 death. Bitter'swidow asked Isidore Konti to complete the work,which was dedicated in May 1916.Munson was publicly credited as the model forPomona as early as August 1916.Actress Doris Doscher (1882–1970) later claimed to have been themodel for Pomona. (Bitter may have used more than one model,or Konti may have used a different model.)
Alexander Stirling Calder Star Maiden   1915 Panama-Pacific International ExpositionOakland MuseumOakland, California bronze 48 in (120 cm) Star Maiden was repeated ninety-five times as aroof balustrade figure surrounding the Court ofthe Universe and the Colonnade of Stars:
Flower Girl   1915 Court of Flowers,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Flower Girl was repeated in niches above thecolonnade of the Court of Flowers. Edgar Walter'sBeauty and the Beast Fountain is in the foreground.
EnterpriseCrowning figure   1915 The Nations of the West,atop Arch of the Setting Sun,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   The Nations of the West:Arch of the Setting Sun:
The Mother of TomorrowCentral figure    
Eastern Hemisphere(reclining female nude with the head ofa lioness, east side of the globe)   1915 Fountain of Energy,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Fountain of Energy:
The Atlantic Ocean(F. G. R. Roth modeled the dolphin)    
The Pacific Ocean(F. G. R. Roth modeled the manatee)    
Nereid No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3(F. G. R. Roth modeled the dolphins)Three nereids riding dolphins, repeated(as a group) four times around thefountain's basin. A water jet spoutedfrom each dolphin's mouth.    
Caryatid(John Bateman assisted on this work)   1915 Attic of Colonnade (above each column),Court of Palms,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Court of Palms:
Ulric Ellerhusen Wonderment   1915 exterior of Rotunda dome,Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff 23 ft (7.0 m) A pair of standing figures, Contemplation (male)and Wonderment (female), flank the relief panelson each face of the Rotunda's dome.The figures were recast in cast stone by SperoAnargyros in 1969.
Consolation(Weeping Maidens or Drooping Maidens)   Pergola of the Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition   ""In the goddesses atop the towers and minarets and in the Grecianboxes adorning the Roman columns of the Palace of the Fine Artswill be found the enchanting line of the [Munson's] girlish form.""
Garland figures   Peristyle Walk, Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition   A set of five larger-than-life, high-relief figures, repeated aroundthe four semi-circular, ground-level planters
John Flanagan Medallion: Head of Audrey Munson   1915 Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition bronze   Flanagan was awarded a PPIE Medal of Honor for his sculpture.
Medal of Award, Panama-PacificInternational Exposition   1915   bronze 2.76 in (70 mm) obverse:
Daniel Chester French Mourning Victory   1906–1908 Melvin Memorial,Sleepy Hollow Cemetery,Concord, Massachusetts Tennessee marble 115 in (290 cm) Memorial to Asa, Samuel and John Melvin,three brothers who fought and died in theAmerican Civil War.Munson was 15 years old when the memorial was completed.
Mourning Victory(mirror image of the Melvin Memorial)   carved1912–1914 Metropolitan Museum of Art,Manhattan, New York City marble 120.5 in (306 cm) James C. Melvin, the only surviving brother,funded the carving of a mirror-image marbleversion, and donated it to MMA.MMA also owns a bronze cast of Victory's head.
Memory   modeledc.1909carved1917–1919 Metropolitan Museum of Art,Manhattan, New York City marble 57.5 in (146 cm) A plaster model is at Chesterwood, French's homeand studio in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.(Pictured, center)
Jurisprudence   1910–1912 Metzenbaum United States Courthouse,Cleveland, Ohio marble 12 ft (3.7 m) Located at street level, near the corners of theSuperior Avenue façade.
Commerce   1910–1912 marble 12 ft (3.7 m)
Wisconsin (Forward)   1912 Wisconsin State Capitol,Madison, Wisconsin gilded bronze 15.5 ft (4.7 m) Atop Wisconsin State Capitol Dome:
Evangeline(bas relief figure, 2nd from right)   1912–1914 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Memorial,Longfellow Park,Cambridge, Massachusetts marble 36 in (91 cm) In Longfellow Park:
The Spirit of Life   1913–1915 Spencer Trask Memorial,Congress Park,Saratoga Springs, New York bronze 122 in (310 cm) In Congress Park:Eight bronze casts from French's 1914 reduced-size working model are in the collections of:Smithsonian American Art Museum,Indianapolis Museum of Art,Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey,Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro, Vermont,and elsewhere.
The Genius of CreationEve   1915 West entrance to Palace of Machinery,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   French was awarded a PPIE Medal of Honor for his sculpture.West entrance to Palace of Machinery:A plaster model is at Chesterwood, French'shome and studio in Stockbridge, Massachusetts:
Brooklyn   1916 Brooklyn Museum,Brooklyn, New York City granite   The pair were created to adorn the Brooklyn side of theManhattan Bridge.Relocated to exterior of the Brooklyn Museum, 1963.At least some of the modeling for the Brooklyn figure was done byRosalie Miller.
Manhattan   1916 granite  
Sherry Edmundson Fry 70th Street pediment   1913 Frick Mansion,Fifth Avenue & East 70th Street,Manhattan, New York City Bedford bluelimestone    
Maidenhood   1914 Brookgreen Gardens,Murrells Inlet, South Carolina bronze 67.3 in (171 cm) Ex collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Peace (Maidenhood)   1914–1915 Peristyle Walk,Exterior of Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition bronze   Fry was awarded a PPIE silver medal for his sculpture.
Cartouche   1915 Female nude beside shield, over greatarched window of Festival Hall,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Festival Hall:
Flora   Twin figures atop pedestals at base ofpylons of Festival Hall,Panama-Pacific International Exposition  
Torch Bearer   Figure repeated atop the four cornerdomes of Festival Hall,Panama-Pacific International Exposition  
Reclining Woman (Listening Woman)Pylon figure   atop east pylon of Festival Hall,Panama-Pacific International Exposition  
Ceres, Goddess of Agriculture   1921 Missouri State Capitol,Jefferson City, Missouri bronze 124 in (310 cm) Atop Missouri State Capitol Dome:
Carl Augustus Heber Spirit of Commerce   1909–1914 Manhattan Bridge (south pier),Manhattan, New York City granite    
Relief tablet over entrance   c.1912 The Little Theatre(now Helen Hayes Theatre),238 West 44th Street,Manhattan, New York City marble   In a 1913 photograph:
Albert Jaegers Harvest (Nature)   1915 atop Half-Dome,Court of the Four Seasons,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Jaegers was awarded a PPIE bronze medal for his sculpture.Half Dome, Court of the Four Seasons:
SunshineRain   atop columns flanking the Half-Dome,Court of the Four Seasons,Panama-Pacific International Exposition  
The Feast of Sacrifice   Heroic-sized group, repeated twiceatop pylons above Forecourt of Ceres,Court of the Four Seasons,Panama-Pacific International Exposition   The Feast of Sacrifice (at upper corners):
Augustus Jaegers AbundanceAttic figures   1915 Court of the Four Seasons,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Augustus Jaegers (brother of Albert) modeled theattic and spandrel figures on the arcades in theCourt of the Four Seasons.Abundance was repeated sixteen times on the arcades.
Isidore Konti The Three Graces   c.1909   marble   Created for the new ballroom of the Hotel Astor,opened September 29, 1909 (second balcony):At the other end of the ballroom, a companionmarble group called The Song featured similarfigures, possibly also modeled by Munson.
Three Muses   undated Hudson River Museum,Yonkers, New York plaster 23 in (58 cm)  
Mother and Child: The Bath(Fountain Group)   c.1910 private collection marble two-thirdslife size  
Solace   1911 Hudson River Museum,Yonkers, New York plaster 28 in (71 cm)  
Fame and Victory (relief figures)   c.1915 Column of Human Progress,Forecourt of the Stars,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Four relief panels with heroic-sized figuressurrounded the base of the 180 ft (55 m)-tallColumn of Human Progress.Munson was the model for Fame and Victory,which flanked the entrance to its vault.
Pomona   1915–1916 Pulitzer Fountain,Grand Army Plaza,Manhattan, New York City bronze 84 in (210 cm) Karl Bitter's widow asked Konti to complete Pomonafollowing Bitter's death in April 1915. Konti enlargedit from a 24 in (61 cm) maquette, added detail, andmade minor changes. His full-size plaster model wascompleted in January 1916, approved by Bitter'swidow in February, and sent to the foundry in March.The fountain was dedicated in May 1916.
Evelyn Beatrice Longman Consecration (L'Amour)   modeled1909–1912carved1914 Wadsworth Athenaeum,Hartford, Connecticut marble 36 in (91 cm) Exhibited in the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1915 Panama-PacificInternational Exposition.Longman was awarded a PPIE silver medal for her sculpture.
Fountain of Ceres   1915 Forecourt, Court of the Four Seasons,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Forecourt, Court of the Four Seasons:
Augustus Lukeman MemoryTitanic Memorial   1913–1914 Straus Memorial,Straus Park,West 106th Street (west of Broadway),Manhattan, New York City bronze 36 in (91 cm) Memorial to Ida and Isidor Straus, who diedin the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic.The park and memorial were dedicated onApril 15, 1915, the third anniversary of the sinking.
Frederick MacMonnies Beauty   c.1911–1917 New York Public Library Main Branch,Fifth Avenue at East 41st Street,Manhattan, New York City Carrara marble 120 in (300 cm) Located just south of the Fifth Avenue entrance.Munson wrote that MacMonnies used her for thelegs, and another model for the torso and face.
Allen George Newman Mermaid (unlocated)   1910 Music of the Waters Fountain(demolished),Riverside Drive at 156th Street,Manhattan, New York City marble   ""Up on Riverside Drive, Allen George Newman's fountain 'Musicof the Water' shows another pose of this young woman.""
The Triumph of Peace   1911 Peace Monument,Piedmont Park,Atlanta, Georgia bronze 108 in (270 cm) Peace Monument in Piedmont Park:
Florida's Tribute to the Women of theConfederacy   1914–1915 Confederate Park,Jacksonville, Florida bronze seated figure42 in (110 cm)flagbearer13 ft (4.0 m) Muson likely posed for the flagbearer atop themonument. She also may have posed for theyoung mother reading to her children.
Attilio Piccirilli Columbia Triumphant   1901–1913 USS Maine National Monument,Central Park,Manhattan, New York City gilded bronze 16.5 ft (5.0 m)  
Peace   marble  
Duty   1910–1913 Firemen's Memorial,Riverside Park,Riverside Drive at West 100th Street,Manhattan, New York City Knoxville marble    
Sacrifice    
A Soul(Alone? Widowhood?)   1915 Exhibited outside Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition marble   Piccirilli was awarded a PPIE gold medal for his sculpture.
Sapientia (Wisdom)   completed1917 Learning of the World (north pediment),Wisconsin State Capitol,Madison, Wisconsin Bethel white granite 96 in (240 cm) North pediment:
Furio Piccirilli Eurydice   1911 Exhibited outside Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition marble   Piccirilli was awarded a PPIE silver medal for his sculpture.
Summer   1915 Court of the Four Seasons,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Each season group was placed in a niche screenedby a colonnade, and set upon a curved steppedbase, down which water cascaded.
Autumn   Fountain of Autumn:
Winter   Fountain of Winter:
Spring(Munson posed for both the femalefigures)   Fountain of Spring:
Edmond Thomas Quinn Audrey   1915 Exhibited at Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition freestanding bronze   Quinn was awarded a PPIE silver medal for his sculpture.
Ulysses Ricci Portrait of Miss Audrey Munson   1914 whereabouts unknown bronze   Exhibited at National Academy of Design in 1914Exhibited at Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts
Frederick Ruckstull Monument to South Carolina Women ofthe Confederacy   1909–1912 South Carolina State House,Columbia, South Carolina bronze 14 ft (4.3 m)  
Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta Lady Godiva   by 1914 unknown silver   ""Even on Fifth avenue you will find her at a famoussilversmith's sitting dejectedly on a white horse as LadyGodiva in a beautiful piece of work made by Scarpetti [sic].""
The Light That Failed   1915        
Starlight   c.1915 Collection of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.(1921)      
Maidenhood   by 1921 Collection of Henry Clay Frick (1921)      
Francois Tonetti Water Nymph   by 1921 Kykuit (John D. Rockefeller Estate)Pocantico Hills, New York      
Edgar Walter Beauty and the Beast   1915 Beauty and the Beast Fountain,Court of Flowers,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Beauty and the Beast Fountain:
Adolph Alexander Weinman Day and NightPair of figures flanking the exterior clocks,repeated over the station's four mainentrances.The station was demolished, 1963-1966.   c.1910 Pennsylvania Station,(bordered by 31st Street, 7th Avenue,33rd Street and 8th Avenue),Manhattan, New York City pink granite 10 ft (3.0 m) Weinman's figures of Day and Night flanked theclocks over the station's 7th and 8th Avenue mainentrances, and were repeated over the 31st and33rd Street entrances.A salvaged figure of Night was donated to theBrooklyn Museum in 1966.A complete clock entablature decorates the EagleScout Memorial Fountain in Kansas City, Missouri.Another clock entablature (disassembled) is atRingwood State Park in Passaic County, NewJersey.
Civic Fame   1913 atop Manhattan Municipal Building,Centre Street at Chambers Street,Manhattan, New York City gilded bronze 25 ft (7.6 m) Manhattan Municipal Building:
Descending Nightatop column   1915 Fountain of the Setting Sun,Court of the Universe,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff   Fountain of the Setting Sun (at left):
Goddess of Truthat base of column    
Walking Liberty Half Dollar   1916   90% silver10% copper 1.203 in (30.6 mm) Munson also may have been Weinman's model forthe Mercury dime (1916).
Daphnis and Chloe   by 1921 Devonshire House, (prior to 1921)London, England     as Chloe
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Paganism Immortal   c.1910        
Fountain of El Dorado   1915 Tower of Jewels Arcade,Panama-Pacific International Exposition     Whitney was awarded a PPIE bronze medal for her sculpture.""[Munson] mingles, many times over, in the crowdpressing forward toward the mysterious portal ofMrs. Harry Payne Whitney's Fountain of ElDorado.""
Bruno Louis Zimm Relief panels:The Triumph of the ArtsThe Struggle for the BeautifulThe Power of the Arts   1915 Attic of Rotunda,Palace of Fine Arts,Panama-Pacific International Exposition staff 14 ft (4.3 m) Truth is the nude female figure at the center ofThe Struggle for the Beautiful.
Year Title Role Notes
1915 Inspiration The Model Reissued as The Perfect Model (1918)
1916 Purity Purity / Virtue  
1916 The Girl o' Dreams Norma Hansen  
1921 Heedless Moths Audrey Munson Based on Munson's stories and articles for Hearst's Sunday Magazine
Andy Moore