Date of Project
4-6-2026
Document Type
Honors Thesis
School Name
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
History
Major Advisor
Dr. Kathryn West
Second Advisor
Dr. Laura Ping
Abstract
Harriet Hosmer was an American woman sculptor who studied in Rome, Italy, from 1853 to 1900. Hosmer led her own cohort of women artists and inspired other artists in Rome. Hosmer’s sculptures and the controversies surrounding them exemplify her experiences as a career woman of her time. Hosmer made sculptures of women who defied the will of men, both mythical and historical. Hosmer’s sculptures show how she felt restricted in the world, particularly in the field of sculpture as a woman and how like the figures of her sculptures she found freedom in stone, where she could tell the stories of other inspirational women. Hosmer is an inspirational figure to the writer, Savannah Parrish. Parrish researched Hosmer, thinking back on Hosmer’s own documented weeks of painstakingly researching for her sculptures.
Recommended Citation
Parrish, Savannah V., "Harriet Hosmer: Femininity and Stone" (2026). Undergraduate Theses. 211.
https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/ugrad_theses/211
Included in
American Art and Architecture Commons, American Literature Commons, American Material Culture Commons, Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Queer Studies Commons, Sculpture Commons, Theory and Criticism Commons, Women's Studies Commons