James F. Ballard
James Franklin Ballard (1851–1931) established a drug merchandising business in Saint Louis, Missouri, and formed a collection of rare oriental carpets. In 1922 and 1923 he made a gift to The Met of 129 of these carpets. Gustavus A. Pfieffer of Saint Louis commissioned Manship to complete a portrait of Ballard to be exhibited in the galleries with the carpets. It entered the museum’s collection in 1927. Manship imparted a great deal of detail in Ballard’s likeness, for instance the folds of the eyelids, the lines in the forehead and chin, and the mustache. He also tinted the irises brown.
Artwork Details
- Title: James F. Ballard
- Artist: Paul Manship (American, St. Paul, Minnesota 1885–1966 New York)
- Date: 1925–26; cast 1927
- Medium: Marble
- Dimensions: 21 1/4 x 11 x 9 3/4 in. (54 x 27.9 x 24.8 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer, 1927
- Object Number: 27.147
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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