James Wilson Alexander MacDonald (American, 1824-1908), After Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741-1828)
Bust of George Washington
cast and painted plaster
with foundry mark of the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co., New York to reverse, along with cast artist signature, date, and certification: New York City, N.Y. I hereby certify and solemnly swear that the Bust upon which this certificate appears is a perfect reproduction of the Life-Cast Bust of Washington, cast and molded from life at Mount Vernon, Va. in the year 1785, by the eminent French sculptor, Jean Antoine Houdon (see Washington's Diary, Oct. 12th, 1785). The original Life-Cast Bust is now owned by Miss Belle A. MacDonald of New York City. -Wilson MacDonald, Sculptor, with cast notary seal and signature of T.B. Wakeman.
Height 18 inches.
This lot is located in Cincinnati.

Provenance:
By repute, descended in the MacDonald family, possibly via Belle A. MacDonald, daughter of the artist;
thence acquired by the present owner.



James Wilson Alexander MacDonald was born in Steubenville, Ohio in 1824. He relocated in 1844 to Saint Louis, where he began his study of fine art, and by 1865, he had moved to New York and established himself as a prominent sculptor of political figures from American history. By the time of his death in 1908 in Yonkers, Westchester County, New York, he was known as "America's oldest sculptor."


MacDonald's two daughters from his first marriage to Sarah Ada Westbrook MacDonald (1832-1883) both lived in Westchester County, too, immediately following the death of their father. The "Miss Belle A. MacDonald" from the artist's certification refers to his younger daughter Belle MacDonald (born circa 1867). Her older sister, Corinne Eugenia Knickerbocker Johnson (1832-1940), had moved to Woodbridge, New Jersey by 1930 according to the United States Federal Census from that year, but the scant historical record for Belle suggests that she lived in Westchester County long-term. The consignor of this bust relates that it was acquired from descendants of the artist still living in Westchester County. If Belle retained the original life-cast of Washington from Mount Vernon, it is possible that this example, likely an early plaster cast for subsequent iterations in bronze, was also in her possession.


The Henry-Bonnard Company specialized in the sand-casting method for bronze sculpture, wherein a negative mold is first obtained from a plaster cast of the artist's original model. Existing examples of this bust in bronze bear the same certification seen here, along with the Henry-Bonnard foundry mark.

In overall good and stable condition, free of any chips or cracks. Several scuffs, scratches, and light abrasions throughout painted surface. Many areas of inpainting present, most notably to proper right cheek, nose, and chin, along with shoulders and lower edges of bust.