The Composer Giuseppe Verdi (1934) by Florence Malcolm Darnault

"A bust of Giuseppe Verdi, opera composer, was unveiled yesterday in the grand ballroom of the Plaza Hotel in the presence of 300 persons. The bust is the work of Florence Darnault, American sculptor. It was accepted from Miss Darnault by Mrs. Florence Jenkins, president of the Verdi Club. Among those present were Agostino de Biasi, Italian author, who unveiled the bust; Arturo Toscanini, Baroness Katherine Evans von Klenner, President of the National Opera Club; Antonio Grosardi, Italian Consul General . . ."-The New York Times, 18 January 1934This sculpture was destined as the centerpiece of the Verdi Club in New York, established by Florence Foster Jenkins. Missing for nearly 80 years, the bust was rediscovered by Anthony’s Fine Art & Antiques (Salt Lake City).The circumstances of its commission and public reception reveal an embarrassing secret about Jenkins and the probable cause for her famously bad singing.At the height of the Depression, Florence Foster Jenkins, daughter of