Portrait of Louis-Étienne Vincent-Marniola

In 2004, Anne L. Poulet, then Director of the Frick, announced the first major acquisition by purchase in almost a decade: Joseph Chinard’s Portrait of Étienne Vincent Marniola, a terracotta bust executed around 1809. Poulet commented, “It is with great excitement that we bring this breathtaking—and previously unpublished—portrait into the Collection and before the public gaze. The work joins a group of distinguished busts in marble and terracotta by Houdon, Pajou, and Boizot, and represents a striking complement to our holdings. We hope that this important event, along with our recent and ongoing attention to special exhibitions of sculpture, will inspire fresh appreciation for the medium.”