Randolph Rogers was born in Waterloo, New York on July 6, 1825. Rogers’ career as a sculptor began in 1848. With the financial support of his employers, Mr. John Steward and Mr. Egarton, Rogers studied in Italy with Lorenzo Barteloni. Through his teaching, Rogers became one of the best American Neo-Classical sculptors during the nineteenth century.

Nydia, the Blind Girl of Pompeii, 1860, originated from the popular nineteenth-century novel, The Last Days of Pompeii by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton. During the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Nydia, the blind flower girl, led her beloved and his fiancée to safety. The sculpture exhibits a dramatic scene where Nydia, separated from her friends, calls out to them and is awaiting their reply.