Charles A. Grafley, Bronze Bust of Rev. Welton Morgan Modisette, 19th C.

Item Details

Bust of Rev. Welton Morgan Modisette
Cast bronze
Signed “A.C.G / ’97”

Description: A large, life-size late 19th-century veristic bronze portrait bust depicting the Reverend Welton Morgan Modisette (1815–1902). The sitter is portrayed in a dignified, frontal gaze, wearing period clerical or formal attire including a high collar, cravat, and jacket. The modeling exhibits a competence in realistic portraiture, capturing the sitter’s aging features, receding hairline, and aquiline nose with sensitivity. The bust rests on an integral waisted bronze socle. The piece appears to have been modeled from life in 1897 (as dated by the artist’s signature) and likely cast as a memorial version after the sitter’s death in 1902, at which point the biographical dates were integrated into the mold for the base.
Signed/Dated: Incised signature ‘A.C.G / ’97’ on the reverse right shoulder.
Inscription: Raised relief lettering on the rear base: ‘Rev. WELTON MORGAN MODISETTE / August 27th 1815 - November 18th 1902’.
Context & Sitter: The sitter, Rev. Welton Morgan Modisette (1815–1902), appears to be the patriarch of a notable American family, likely the grandfather of Col. Welton Mathews Modisette (1890–1959), a distinguished U.S. Army officer who commanded Camp Atterbury during WWII. The ‘Rev.’ title indicates a clerical profession. The bust is a high-quality ‘Grand Tour’ or American Renaissance style veristic portrait, popular in the late Victorian era for immortalizing family patriarchs or institutional founders.

Condition

- oxidation throughout; surface wear; accretions to crevices; flaking to the underside of base.

Dimensions

- measurements include base.

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Item #

ITMGS50022