Name/Title
Thomas Edison – Relief Portrait from Katherine Stewart LawsonEntry/Object ID
393Description
Artist: Katherine Stewart Lawson (1891–?)
USA, ca. 1920/30
Historical Background
This cast relief shows Thomas Edison in profile and was created by the American sculptor Katherine Stewart Lawson. Born in 1891 in Indianapolis, Lawson studied at the Chicago Art Institute and later at the Art Students League in New York, where she focused exclusively on sculpture. She gained early recognition when she was awarded the prestigious Shaw Memorial Prize of the National Academy of Design in 1921.
After her marriage in 1915 she lived in Connecticut, where she worked for the Public Works of Art Project and later for the WPA Federal Arts Project (1936), producing reliefs and busts for schools and hospitals in Norwalk.
Technique and Features
Cast relief with bronze-colored patina, mounted on a wooden panel.
Signed by the artist.
Likely produced as a unique piece or in a very limited series, possibly intended as a tribute or commemorative work honoring Edison.
Rarity and Significance
Very little is known today about Katherine Stewart Lawson, and her works seldom appear on the art market. The Edison relief displayed at the Edisonium is therefore both a rare example of female American sculpture from the 1920s/30s and a striking homage to the “Wizard of Menlo Park.”
