AKU-2003-002

Unknown, American, after a model of c. 1911; cast 1989

Standard Oil, Dissolved (Bust of John D. Rockefeller)

1911

Bronze on marble pedestal

Bust: 48 × 34 × 28 cm; Pedestal: 112 cm height

Acquisition

Purchased at auction, 2003

Curator’s Note

The Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil on May 15, 1911. The trust was broken into thirty-four successor companies. Rockefeller owned shares in all of them. By 1913 he was worth more than he had been in 1911. This cast was made from a mold commissioned by the Standard Oil board to commemorate the company's thirtieth anniversary, in a year the company did not survive. The original plaster is lost. The AKU acquired this posthumous bronze casting in 2003. It is displayed facing away from the wall.

Exhibition

gilded-age-digital-age