Edward McCartan was born in Albany, NY in 1879. He set up a studio in New York City in the 1920s and studied at the Art Students League and Pratt Institute in New York, and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He was greatly influenced by the technical execution and skill of the French sculptor, Jean Antoine Houdon. McCartan’s subjects consisted of Greek Mythological figures including Diana, Nymphs and Satyrs, and Dionysus.

Diana, The Huntress, 1923, exhibits a nude figure (Diana), struggling with a dog. This powerful sculpture emphasized the muscular tension, yet elegant curves of both subjects.