Augustus Saint-GaudensAmerican, 1848–1907Charles Cotesworth Beaman
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Charles Cotesworth Beaman” now? Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 17A, Washington, D.C. Yes, on view now. Checked September 25, 2026.
Washington, D.C., United States
RoomLuce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 17A
Closed· opens at 11:30 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
An essay that Charles Beaman wrote as a Harvard law student so impressed Senator Charles Sumner, then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that he hired the young man as his private secretary. This led to Beaman’s appointments to international posts and ultimately to a partnership in a prestigious New York law firm. The architect Stanford White introduced the lawyer to Augustus Saint-Gaudens around 1884. Beaman offered to rent his house in Cornish, New Hampshire, to the talented young sculptor so that he could work on his commission for Chicago’s Lincoln Park monument. Saint-Gaudens fell in love with the house and, after renting it repeatedly, convinced Beaman to sell it to him for a reduced price and this bronze portrait.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1969.176
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0
