Clara and Lizzie, Daughters of Frederick and Elizabeth Shattuck c. 1893 - 1894

Bela Lyon Pratt created this bronze relief, Clara and Lizzie, Daughters of Frederick and Elizabeth Shattuck, sometime around the turn of the 20th century. It exemplifies a tradition of portraiture common among wealthy families during the American Gilded Age. This image creates meaning through visual codes. The relief presents an idealized vision of childhood, emphasizing innocence and beauty through soft modeling, delicate features, and the girls' tender interaction. Pratt's style echoes classical and Renaissance precedents, elevating the Shattuck sisters to a timeless representation of familial virtue. The carefully cultivated garden setting further reinforces the image of prosperity and refined taste. These objects served as markers of social status, reinforcing existing hierarchies. But, as historians, we can look into the economic and political context of the Shattuck family to understand how these kinds of images worked in the construction of social identity. Such research reveals the ways in which institutions, such as the family, perpetuate social norms and project a particular image of themselves to the outside world.