Judith
Giulio Tadolini (1849-1918) marble
ca. 1881
Gift of Agnes Lathers and bequest of Annie Caroline Lathers

Giulio Tadolini was the third of four generations of sculptors who worked in the same studio in Rome. This particiular piece depicts Judith, an Israelite queen found in the Old Testament Apocrypha. Written by an unknown author, this book is a story of Israel's deliverance from Holofernes' Assyrian army. Tadolini's piece shows Judith as she prepares to behead the army commander.

Penelope
Franklin Simmons (1839-1913) marble
ca. 1884
Gift of Mrs. Frederick S. Coolidge

A prolific sculptor, Franklin Simmons' Penelope tells the story of Penelope in Homer's Greek epic the Odyssey. Despite rumors of her husband's death, Penelope faithfully waited in Ithaca for twenty years for the return of Odysseus as he made his voyage back from the Trojan War. Simmons captures her loyalty and fidelity toward her husband during his lengthy absence.

The Lost Pleiad
Randolph Rogers (1825-1892) marble
ca.1874-1875
Gift of Agnes Lathers and bequest of Annie Caroline Lathers

Randolph Rogers, American-born and well-studied in Europe, was one of the most accomplished neoclassical sculptors of his time. The Lost Pleiad derives inspiration from the Greek myth of the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione who were changed into stars by the gods. However, it is said that only six stars in the "Seven Stars" constellation are visible because Merope felt intense shame after marrying Sysyphus, a mortal.

The Veiled Rebecca
Giovanni Maria Benzoni (1809-1873) marble
ca. 1866
Gift of Mrs. Edwin Clapp, 1884, to the Berkshire Athenaeum; transferred to Museum

Giovanni Maria Benzoni was trained in Rome, eventually establishing his own shop where he trained numerous students. This biblical sculpture depicts Rebecca, bride of Isaac, as she draws her veil about her before being presented to her future husband. This piece represents innocence and purity as Benzoni skillfully creates the appearance of a transparent veil, an exceptional technical achievement.

West Mobile
Alexander Calder
Berkshire Museum Commission

In the 1930's the Berkshire Museum gave the young Calder his first public commission, a pair of mobiles designed for the theater. These pieces, which were recently conserved, still hang in their original niches on either side of the theater's stage.

Riff, 1987
Nancy Graves
Berkshire Museum purchase

Painter, printmaker, and sculptor Nancy Graves was born and raised in Pittsfield. Her father was a Berkshire Museum administrator, and she spent hours observing and responding to the museum’s collections of art and natural history. At the core of Graves’ work is its deep exploration of the forms of natural history. Graves’ 1969 solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York was the first such show by a woman artist. By the time of her death in 1995, she had established herself as a creative mind of the first rank.