Existing comment:
Low Relief Portraits:
Between 1901 and 1904, Saint-Gaudens spent each spring in Washington, DC. In Reminiscences, Saint-Gaudens' son recalls his father's visit to the city: "Various little happenings of this Washington life diverted him thoroughly; the imposing Justices of the Supreme Court who he watched file into their court room during the spring he was modeling the relief of Justice Gray; the cozy dinners of Mr. Henry Adams' house, where witty talkers were always gathered..."
Unlike the other judicial portraits, Justice Gray's portrait was not done posthumously. In addition to observing the Justice on the Bench, Saint-Gaudens met with Gray for a formal sitting.
The portrait of Horace Gray was bequeathed to the Supreme Court in 1938 by the Justice's widow, Jane Gray. As seen in the photograph below, it hung in the Grays' Boston home until it was gifted to the Court. |