Irene Millet. Artist: Antoine-Émile Bourdelle (French, Montauban 1861-1929 Vésinet). Culture: French, Paris. Dimensions: 20 1/2 × 15 3/4 × 10 3/4 in. (52.1 × 40 × 27.3 cm). Date: 1917.
Greco-Egyptian funerary portraiture provided the stylistic inspiration for this bust. The subdued polychromy indicates that it was intended for execution in pâte de verre; an example of the head alone in that medium is in the Musée Bourdelle, Paris. Mrs. Millet and her husband were the donors of the Museum's monumental bronze Herakles the Archer by Bourdelle (24.232).