Lot 54: JOSEPH MOZIER AMERICAN, 1812-1876

signed and dated: J. MOZIER. Sc. / ROME. 1862 and inscribed THE WEPT OF WISH-TON-WISH

white marble

THE WEPT OF WISH-TON-WISH

170cm., 67in.

After a successful commercial career in the dry-goods business, Mozier decided to move to Europe in 1845 to pursue an artistic career. Critical opinion seems to have been divided about Mozier's artistic merits, however, his determination began to pay dividends when the Art Journal published a substantial article on him in 1859. By this time, helped by Hiram Powers, several works were particularly well received and led even his most ardent critics to grudgingly accept Mozier as a legitimate sculptor, notably The Prodigal Son, Pocahontas and The Wept of Wish-ton-wish. Mozier's preference for subjects drawn from popular literature was key his more general critical acclaim.

The Wept of Wish-ton-wish was modelled in Rome around 1857 and reworked seven years later. The subject is taken from James Fenimore Cooper's eponymous novel. It depicts the heroine Ruth Heathcoat who was abducted as a child by Narragansett Indians. She was raised by the tribe and grew up safely in their culture, marrying a Narragansett brave named Conanchet and taking the tribal name Narra-mattah. The story, however, ends tragically when Ruth's husband is captured and executed whilst saving Ruth's real parents from a rival tribe. Ruth's grief is so great she dies of a broken heart, after a reconciliation with her family. The mournful sobriquet 'The Wept of Wish-ton-wish' was carved on her headstone and refers to her mother's tears when she was taken as a child.

The combination of a sentimental theme from contemporary literature, which had overt analogies with the biblical character of Ruth, interpreted in a conventional late neo-classical genre was a recipe for success and it has become one of the key works on which Mozier's reputation has been assessed. The figure's inclusion in the London International exhibition of 1862 ensured an international audience (fig.1). Two replicas of the first 1859 version are documented and at least two versions of the reworked model are thought to have been made. An example dated 1866 is in the James H. Ricau Collection, Chyrsler Museum of Art.

Related literature A Marble Quarry, pp.136-140, no.32