It is always so wonderful for me to ‘discover’ a book that has a special meaning to me. Karen Ingall’s Davida is one of those serendipitous finds that makes a booklover believe in miracles. I’ve been upset over the past few years at the destruction of sculptures– in Pakistan, Iraq, Ukraine, and especially in America.  I was particularly furious that during the Boston Common riot of 2020 Augustus Saint-Gauden’s masterpiece, the Shaw Memorial, was attacked by the mob. It is a magnificent work that celebrates the young Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and his regiment of African-American volunteers. 

The most famous American sculptor during the Beaux Arts period, Saint-Gaudens worked in both New York and Paris. I tried copying his work when I took sculpting classes, and often walked down the streets in Paris where he lived and had his studio. 

This book about Davida was written by her Great Granddaughter. It fills in some of the gaps about my knowledge my favorite sculptor and the beautiful Swedish young woman who became is model and mistress. Although they had a child together, the affair and out-of-wedlock birth of their son was kept quiet. This book was tells the story of a love affair that lasted over twenty years, and about the toll it played it took Davida’s family.  Enjoy my interview with Karen Ingalls.

(You can see in the photo below that Karen is beautiful and has her Great-Grandmother’s cheekbones.)