Rev. Cotton Mather (Son of Increase) Using His Powerful Influence to Overcome the Prejudice Against Inoculation for Smallpox in Boston, 1721

Inscriptions

Cast below image: REV. COTTON MATHER (SON OF INCREASE) USING HIS POWERFUL INFLUENCE TO OVERCOME / THE PREJUDICE AGAINST INOCULATION FOR SMALLPOX IN BOSTON, 1721

Publications

Alice R. McGill, "America's Gifted Sculptress," The Philadelphia Press Fiction Magazine, Oct. 31, 1915, 9. Max Kozlov, "Introducing Inoculation, 1721," The Scientist, Jan. 1, 2021, https://www.the-scientist.com/foundations/introducing-inoculation-1721-68275, ill.

Quick Overview

Artist: Sally James Farnham / American, 1869–1943
Date: c. 1915
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 55.2 × 88.9 × 6.9 cm (21 3/4 × 35 × 2 3/4 in.)
Type: Sculpture
Classification: sculpture
Place: Boston
Department: Arts of the Americas
Credit line: Gift of Mr. Alonzo C. Mather
Accession no.: 1926.2193

Provenance

Commissioned by Alonzo Clark Mather (1848–1941), Chicago, c. 1915 [according to The Philadelphia Press Fiction Magazine, Oct. 31, 1915]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, by 1926.

Data retrieved from the Art Institute of Chicago on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.