Carl Paul Jennewein (1890-1978)

Jennewein chose to portray 'Iris', the Greek goddess of the rainbow, not as a traditional divine form with golden wings, but rather as a young woman on her toes with her body arched backwards in a curve representing the rainbow. He used seventeen different models to create the work, selecting the most perfect aspects of each woman to create his idealized figure.

Jennewein began his work in 1939, and by 1942 he began casting 'Iris' in bronze in both a large and small version. A large bronze, of which the present work is an example, was exhibited in 1942 at The American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The work was well received and in 1943 the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts invited Jennewein to submit 'Iris' for their annual exhibition.

'Iris' won the Sidney B. Hollander prize for sculpture at the "American Art Week" exhibition at the New York chapter of the American Artists Professional League in November 1944. Another example of the present work is currently in the collection of Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.