Existing comment:
Decoding a Relief Portrait:
Saint-Gaudens' relief portraits have been described as a type of "short story." Through the use of symbols, inscriptions, and other personalized details, Saint-Gaudens reveals much about the sitter's character and accomplishments. The portrait of Associate Justice Horace Gray (right) serves as an example of how Saint-Gaundens was able to capture an individual's personality. When the portrait was modeled from life in 1901, Justice Gray was seventy-four years old and quite ill. Regardless, the portrait still captures his strength and severity.
Symbols:
The sculptor often included symbols associated with a sitter's occupation, in this case creating a stylized Seal of the Supreme Court of the United States in the upper left corner, a beautifully detailed judicial robe, a book of law, and a Bench chair.
"The feeling for individuality, -- the modern idea that a man is not merely one of a species, but is a character, -- the caring less for the perfection of a race and more for the man himself as he is, with his defects as well as his merits, is one of the noticeable qualities of Saint-Gaudens' work."
-- Kenyon Cox |