Plaster Model for Bust
Joel Tanner Hart (1810-1877) was a Kentucky sculptor who is known for his busts of prominent American figures such as Henry Clay and Cassius M. Clay (his marble bust is in the Great Hall of the King Library).
Clay often did not like artists' renderings of his face, but he reportedly admired Hart's talents and approved of Hart's portraiture. In his later years, Hart emigrated to Florence, Italy, where he continued to sculpt and where he died at the age of 67.
Hart's full-length statues of Henry Clay stand in Louisville, Kentucky; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Richmond, Virginia.
