Little Brother

Manship created Little Brother in 1912 during his three-year fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. The sculpture depicts a nude young woman seated on a low pedestal, holding an infant above her right shoulder so that she can look into his face. The subject matter is one of simple domesticity. This statuette, and several related groups, is significant in Manship’s oeuvre for his introduction of stylized drapery and figural conventions from archaic Greek sculpture, elements that became a hallmark of his style throughout his career.

Credit: Gift of J. Richardson Dilworth and Diana Dilworth Wantz, 1984