History's Truest Portraits

Nicholas West — Mon, 08 May 2006 07:50:39 -0800

The Laurence Hutton Collection Of Life & Death Masks is one of the more fascinating collections of historical artifacts out there, consisting of more than 100 plaster casts of the live and dead faces of the great, near great, and famous figures stretching from the 19th Century all the way back to the 15th. Laurence Hutton, an author born in New York in 1843, collected these masks all his life, hunting them down in thrift shops, curio shops, private collections and even garbage dumps, and after his death the collection was inherited by Princeton University. For years the masks sat collecting dust in cardboard boxes, and were available for viewing by appointment only. However, someone recently had the obvious idea to make digital photos of the masks and put them on line, making these riveting portraits available for all to see. This is a subject that has always fascinated me, for a life mask is the truest portrait we have of many historical personages. I have my own small collection of such masks; a life mask of Beethoven and Chopin, and even Paul McCartney (I am, surprise, a musician.)

Can death be sleep, when life is but a dream

gwint — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 13:40:48 -0800

Death Masks (Keats, Newton, Etc.)

MetaFilter posts tagged with deathmasks

History's Truest Portraits

Can death be sleep, when life is but a dream