VINCENZO MISERENDINO
United States, 1875-1943
"Thomas Mott Osborne (1859-1926)"
An exceedingly rare cast
Patinated lost-wax cast bronze
Signed in cast "V. Meserendino Sc. NY 1929"
Cast by the Kunst Foundry in New York circa 1930
A finely cast and incredibly rare bronze reduction of the public monument to Thomas Mott Osborne, the noted prison reformer and social activist, modeled by the Italian-American sculptor Vincenzo Miserendino and executed at the Kunst Foundry in New York. The sculpture presents Osborne standing in contemporary dress, holding out a book in his outstretched hand over which a prison garment hangs, his other hand holding empty shackles. The base is modeled with relief vignettes of prisoners and the lives they might be living if reformation were possible, underscoring the central role Osborne played in rethinking the penal system. The work is signed “V. Meserendino Sc. NY 1929” along the base and carries the foundry mark “Kunst F’dry NY” together with the inscription “Thomas M. Osborne.”
Thomas Mott Osborne (1859–1926) was born in Auburn, New York and educated at Harvard University, graduating with honors in 1884. Following service in a number of local and municipal positions, he was appointed in 1907 by Governor Charles Evans Hughes as the upstate commissioner on New York’s first Public Service Commission. In this role Osborne was known for traveling in disguise to investigate issues of public safety directly. His engagement with prison reform began in 1913, when Governor William Sulzer named him chairman of the State Commission on Prison Reform. Osborne entered Auburn Prison incognito and spent six days confined, documenting his experience in the widely read book Within Prison Walls (1914). The revelations brought him national prominence as a leading voice for penal reform. His career included the introduction of the Mutual Welfare League at Sing Sing and Auburn, where he promoted prisoner self-governance and humane treatment. In 1916 he investigated the Portsmouth Naval Prison in Kittery, Maine, again calling for improved conditions and denouncing demeaning practices and attire. Osborne’s writings and public addresses contributed to the dismantling of longstanding abuses within American prisons, reshaping the discourse around incarceration. He remained active until his death in Auburn on October 20, 1926. The present bronze, modeled just three years later, distills his legacy into a commemorative image that emphasizes both his civic stature and the reforms symbolized by the relief figures at the base.
Vincenzo Miserendino (1875–1943)
Vincenzo Miserendino was born on January 29, 1875, in Petralia Soprana, a small town in Sicily. His interest in art developed early and by his teenage years he was already pursuing formal training. At the age of thirteen he studied in Palermo, and a few years later continued his education at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome.
When he was nineteen he left Italy and settled in New York City. Like many immigrants of his generation, he began life in America with modest means, taking whatever work was available while establishing himself as a sculptor. He lived on the Lower East Side and maintained a studio there while slowly gaining recognition. Over time he developed a career that brought his works into both public collections and private commissions.
Miserendino devoted much of his career to portrait sculpture, often depicting prominent American figures of the early twentieth century. Among his most celebrated works are likenesses of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Around 1922 he modeled a life-sized terracotta portrait of Theodore Roosevelt in safari dress, a composition that even included the head of a lion at the base. Other depictions of Roosevelt by Miserendino were placed in cities such as Oklahoma City and Mount Vernon, New York. In 1934 he produced a paired bronze of Franklin Roosevelt with his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, which was placed at Hyde Park.
He was also commissioned to create monuments to Christopher Columbus, works that were intended to honor the Italian American community. One example, dedicated in 1925, was installed in City Park, Reading, Pennsylvania. Another was unveiled in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1926 on the grounds of the State Capitol, where it remained until its removal in 2020.
His work extended to many other public figures. In 1930 he produced a bronze and granite monument of prison reformer Thomas Mott Osborne, which originally stood at Sing Sing Prison. In 1933 he completed a bust of Adolph Ochs, publisher of the New York Times, for the paper’s headquarters, with another version placed in Georgia. He also modeled busts of Admiral Richard Byrd, the tenor Enrico Caruso, Thomas Paine, and other cultural and political figures.
Although sculpture was his main focus, Miserendino occasionally worked in other mediums. A watercolor titled The Spring Dance was sold in 1917 for installation in a movie palace, and throughout his career he showed work at institutions such as the New York Academy of Design and the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. In the 1920s he exhibited pieces at Tiffany Studios in an exhibition organized by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Miserendino married Julia Beninati in 1904 and together they raised six children: Joseph, Vivian, Eleanor, Isabel, Cecelia, and Theodore. The family made their home in the Bronx, particularly in the Pelham Bay area, while Miserendino continued to work from his Manhattan studio. In 1923 he published a book on his views about the creative process and success in the arts, titled Art in Its Making and the Law of Success.
He remained active as a sculptor until the end of his life. On December 26, 1943, Vincenzo Miserendino died of a heart attack in New York City. He was buried in Saint Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx. His career left behind a substantial body of portrait and commemorative work that reflected both his Italian heritage and his American experience.
Condition: Very fine original condition, carefully cleaned and waxed. Ready to place.
ref. 508SST14C
