Features a young girl from the shoulders up, wearing a reddish-brown colored top with her hair fashioned in a braided up-do with a middle part. The girl’s head is tilted toward her right shoulder; her expression is reflective, and her eyes have a sensitive appeal.
(1872-1955)
Bessie Potter was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Shortly after the death of her father, she and her mother moved to Chicago to be near family. At age 14 or 15 she was working on Saturdays for Lorado Taft. The money she earned enabled her to start taking courses at the Art Institute.
Potter studied under Taft from 1890-1891.She was one of the female sculptors who helped Taft with sculptures for the Horticulture Building for the Columbian Exposition in 1893. These women were collectively known as “The White Rabbits.”
In 1894 she opened a studio in the Atheneum Building. In 1899 Potter married New York painter Robert Vonnoh.
Potter Vonnoh specialized in portrait sculptures and small statuettes of women and children known as “Potterines.”