HUNTINGTON ACQUIRES ‘ZENOBIA’

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SAN MARINO, CALIF. (AP) — A nearly 7-foot-high marble sculpture not seen publicly in more than a century has been acquired by The Huntington Library Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.

“Zenobia in Chains,” created by Harriet Hosmer in 1859, was purchased with funds from The Virginia Steele Scott Foundation of Pasadena. It was believed lost until a private collector rediscovered it a few years ago.

The museum announced March 7 that funds for the sculpture will come from $11 million in assets of the foundation that disbanded after more than three decades of steadily increasing its financial support of the museum.

The 82-inch-high sculpture goes on public display for the first time in 123 years in May 2009 when the San Marino museum reopens its expanded American art galleries. It is considered one of the most famous pieces produced during what is known as the golden age of American classical sculpture.