''Memory'' is an 1886–1887 (revised 1909) marble sculpture by American artist

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculpture, sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works include ''The Minute Man'', an 1874 statue in Concord, Massachusetts, and his Statue of Abr ...

. The finished version measures x x and is part of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

's collection. The statue was carved by the

Piccirilli Brothers The Piccirilli Brothers were an Italian family of renowned marble carvers and sculptors who carved many of the most significant marble sculptures in the United States, including Daniel Chester French’s colossal ''Abraham Lincoln'' (1920) in the ...

. French began working on the concept for the sculpture in 1886 when he produced a small clay sketch that was subsequently cast in bronze. The work was also called ''Memory.'' He then returned to the idea about 20 years later and produced the current work. The president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert W. de Forest, wanted to obtain the piece for the museum, but because French was a Trustee of the institution, it would have been unethical for the museum to pay him for it. Eventually a donor,

Henry Walters Henry Walters (September 26, 1848 – November 30, 1931) was noted as an art collector and philanthropist, a founder of the Walters Art Gallery (now the Walters Art Museum) in Baltimore, Maryland, which he donated to the city in his 1931 will f ...

, the museum's vice president, purchased the statue and donated it to the museum. French considered the work to be, "the chief effort of my life."Richman, Michael, “Daniel Chester French: An American Sculptor”, The Preservation Press, Washington D.C., 1976 pp. 151–154

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* Marble sculptures in New York City Nude sculptures in New York (state) Sculptures by Daniel Chester French Sculptures by the Piccirilli Brothers Sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Sculptures of women in New York City Statues in New York City {{NewYork-sculpture-stub

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