A Virtual Lecture by Thayer Tolles “Casting His Legacy”

In this talk, President of Saint-Gaudens Memorial and Marica F. Vilcek Curator of American Painting and Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thayer Tolles, will examine how Saint-Gaudens’s widow, Augusta (1848–1926), drove this posthumous casting effort — working with his studio assistants and technicians, choosing foundries and models, and setting prices, copyrights, and marketing strategy. Tolles will also consider the quality standards Augusta applied to production, and how her approach compared to those of other sculptors’ widows.