Rachel Louise Carson

Object Details

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National Portrait Gallery Collection

Exhibition

20th Century Americans: 1960-2000

On View

NPG, South Gallery 342

Date

1965

Object number

NPG.66.19

Exhibition Label

Born Springdale, Pennsylvania

As a government scientist, Rachel Carson became concerned about the ecological impact of pesticides, especially DDT, and in 1962 she published the groundbreaking Silent Spring. Finely written and passionately reasoned, Silent Spring exploded into national consciousness and can be said to have started the modern environmental movement. Although some of its conclusions are still controversial today, the book was a warning that an active citizenry had to be skeptical of large institutions, an attitude that became a dominant theme of the 1960s and 1970s. Sculptor Una Hanbury, who met Carson shortly before her death, was struck by her tremendous vitality and incorporated that quality into her portrait.

Provenance

Una Hanbury [1904-1990]; purchased NPG 1966

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Artist

Una Hanbury, 1904 - 9 Feb 1990

Sitter

Rachel Louise Carson, 27 May 1907 - 14 Apr 1964

Topic

Rachel Louise Carson: Female

Rachel Louise Carson: Literature\Writer\Scientific

Rachel Louise Carson: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Environmentalist

Rachel Louise Carson: Science and Technology\Scientist\Naturalist

Rachel Louise Carson: Science and Technology\Scientist\Biologist

Rachel Louise Carson: Science and Technology\Scientist\Biologist\Marine Biologist

Rachel Louise Carson: Presidential Medal of Freedom

Portrait

Place

United States\District of Columbia\Washington

Medium

Bronze

Dimensions

With Base: 48.6 x 21 x 15.6cm (19 1/8 x 8 1/4 x 6 1/8")

Without Base: 28.3 x 21 x 15.6cm (11 1/8 x 8 1/4 x 6 1/8")

Base: 20.3 x 15.2 x 15.2cm (8 x 6 x 6")

Data Source

National Portrait Gallery

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Metadata Usage

Usage conditions apply

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4a8f41103-d714-4711-9baf-f318d7e5da9f

Record ID

npg_NPG.66.19