Harriet Whitney Frishmuth

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880 -1980) was a student of such renowned artists as Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) and Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941). Frishmuth's reputation and career grew steadily throughout the first several decades of the twentieth century, with exhibitions at the National Academy of Design, the Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, the Salon in Paris, the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940) and the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors.

Her favorite models were dancers, especially Desha Delteil (1899-1980) - immortalized in Frishmuth's most famous work, The Vine - a model particularly popular with artists for her ability to hold difficult poses for long periods of time. Crest of the Wave may have been conceived as a study for a commissioned larger version of the same design. The windswept hair and turbulent water create a work at once graceful and powerful. The piece proved to be very popular with casts made between 1926 and 1968.

A proponent of the Beaux Arts style - Frishmuth was exceptionally critical of modern art, often calling it "spiritless" - her works can now be seen in some of the world's leading museums and collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Dallas Museum of Art, and Ohio University's Kennedy Museum of Art.