Thomas Jefferson American President Bust by Houdon White, Assorted Sizes

Elegance in Off White: The Houdon Jefferson Bust

This Houdon Jefferson bust keeps alive the alert, elegant Jefferson that a Paris sculptor captured in 1789. It comes in 12 in and 28 in sizes, both in off white hand-finished crushed stone resin.

It reproduces a Paris portrait by Jean-Antoine Houdon. A white Jefferson bust recalls the plaster casts that sculptors made from their clay models.

Product Details

• Material: Hand-finished crushed stone resin
• Color: Off White
• Small: 12 in H x 7 in W x 4 in D including base, 2.8 lbs, PN 343W_12
• Small base: 4 in W x 4 in D x 1 1/16 in H
• Small head: 3 3/4 in H
• Large: 28 in H, 24.3 lbs, PN 344W_30
• Style: Jefferson Paris portrait

Jefferson Meets Houdon in Paris

In 1784 Congress sent Jefferson to Europe to negotiate commercial treaties with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. There he met Houdon, the leading portrait sculptor of the day.

The Jefferson Paris portrait came from a sitting in August 1789. Houdon modeled him in terra cotta, then made a plaster cast.

A Portrait Shown at the Salon

The Monticello plaster very likely appeared at the Salon of 1789. A marble version is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

This Houdon Jefferson bust repeats that famous image. The portrait stresses Jefferson's alert mind and elegant bearing. Houdon portrait sculpture of this kind made the sitter look both thoughtful and at ease.

Jefferson himself called Houdon the first statuary of his age. See more presidents in our American Presidents Collection.

Display and Care

The 12 in Houdon Jefferson bust sits easily on a desk or shelf. The 28 in size needs a sturdy console or pedestal, since it weighs 24.3 lbs. Dust either white Jefferson bust with a soft dry cloth.

Jean-Antoine Houdon in Brief

Houdon was born in 1741. Houdon portrait sculpture covers the great names of his era, including Franklin, Washington, and Jefferson.

For More Reading from the Web

• Read how Houdon modeled Jefferson and where the plaster and marble versions are kept. Houdon Bust of Thomas Jefferson - Monticello
• Meet Houdon's circle of American sitters in this Met entry on his portrait of Franklin. Benjamin Franklin by Houdon - The Metropolitan Museum of Art