Mozier was part of a circle of American Neoclassical marble carvers in Florence, Italy that included Powers, Greenough and Ives. Shortly after 1845, Mozier moved his family to Florence and took lessons under Hiram Powers. This relationship did not end well and Mozier shifted to Rome, where American Thomas Crawford was working.
Mozier is often noted for his very American oriented themes in his major works, such as Pocahontas and The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish which is derived from James Fenimore Cooper’s 1829 romance novel. His Prodigal Son at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Undine at Yale University are amongst some of his most noted works and stand as singular in the history of American marble works.
Mozier was part of a circle of American Neo-Classical marble carvers in Florence, Italy that included Powers, Greenough and Ives. Shortly after 1845, Mozier had moved his family to Florence and took lessons under Hiram Powers. This relationship did not end well and Mozier shifted to Rome, where American Thomas Crawford was working. Our model of Spring was carved in 1869 and there are at least two other known versions of this work carved in 1865 and 1863. A marble carver would repeat a work if they had a patron requested it and it was a popular work for them. Spring is classic Mozier who has a recognizable feel to his work. He has a certain facial type he tends to repeat, often carves his feet of women in true and ample size whereas some carvers diminish this feature and he repeated features such as the buttons on the sleeves of the young girl’s dress, which are also to be found on his Silence which is in the collection of the Chrystler Museum. The Chrystler Museum holds the largest collection of Mozier’s work which numbers in at least eight major examples.
Spring is a highly common theme in sculpture and especially in marbles. It is a broad idea that enabled marble carvers to play with female form and all the metaphors for youth, beauty, innocence, purity, rebirth, creation etc. Her Mozier opts to use a young girl and the work is celebratory of blossoming youth and the fresh allure of innocence. Mozier is often noted for his very American oriented themes in his major works, such as Pocahontas and The Wept of Wish - ton – Wish which is derived from James Fenimore Cooper’s 1829 romance novel. His Prodigal Son at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Undine at Yale University are amongst some of his most noted works and stand as singular in the history of American marble works.
While there are at least three known versions of this work by Mozier, his output was not high and his works are very rare. Any marble by a noted American from this time frame is to be looked upon as a national treasure from a rarified experience that happened between approximately 1830 and 1890 in American art.
Private Collection, New Jersey
Acquired by new owner circa 2005
Sotheby’s American Paintings Sale, 2009
Sotheby’s London Sale July 2012
H. Nichols and B. Clark, A Marble Query: The James H. Ricau Collection of Sculpture at the Chrysler Museum of Art, New York, 1997, pp.122-144