Mildred and William Dean Howells

Description

This sculpture speaks to the cultural and social awareness that arose in reaction to the unbridled economic development of the so-called Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century. It celebrates William Dean Howells (1837-1920), a literary figure who explored issues considered taboo at the time, including class struggle, racial and labor inequality, and divorce. Often referred to as the "Dean of American Letters," Howells was a strong proponent of realism, as opposed to romanticism, in American literature. As the editor of Atlantic Monthly (1871-81), he publlished fellow realists, such as Mark Twain and Henry James. Here he is shown reading a manuscript while sitting across from his daughter, Mildred, a poet and artist who illustrated and edited some of his writing. The sculpture is a bronze reduction relief, meaning it is a smaller and more affordable version of a larger work.