Monday, August 16, 2010

Cornelia and Cedric


The bronze likenesses of Cornelia Vanderbilt, daughter of George and Edith Vanderbilt, and the family’s St. Bernard, Cedric, took up permanent residence at Biltmore’s Antler Hill Village in early August.

Vadim based the life-sized work on archival photographs of Cornelia Vanderbilt playing with one of several large St. Bernards the Vanderbilts kept as pets. He sculpted the piece in a classical style and worked with curators to create symbolic elements, such as the magnolia branch in Cornelia’s hand to commemorate a tree planted in the gardens to celebrate her birth in 1900.

The official unveiling/dedication of the piece will occur in September.