March 29, 2014

Sculptor Jo Davidson creates a bust of Chaplin, New York City, August 1925


From Between Sittings by Jo Davidson (1951):
From a diary kept at this time I see that on August 12, soon after I arrived in New York, I went to a dinner for Charlie Chaplin at Conde Nast's. Chaplin and I took to each other and he agreed to sit for his bust.
Making a bust of him was no easy task. He has a very sensitive and mobile face. It was fascinating to watch the rapid play of his many expressions. He would sit there and never move a muscle and yet his face was constantly changing. He would look gay or sad, wise or silly, at will. It seemed to come from the inside out. He was a wonderfully stimulating companion.

The finished bust, cast in bronze, is on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery


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