The bust was modeled and carved in Berlin, but it is now held by the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas.

As a young artist in 1850s Berlin, Elisabet Ney studied under the prominent sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch.

Grimm sat for Ney to compose his portrait in 1856, after which she developed the piece until its completion in marble in 1858.

[2] Grimm depicts its subject in his early seventies, unclothed, with bare shoulders and upper chest showing.

The piece blends neoclassical elements (such as the neutral pose and unincised eyes) with realistic details, such as wrinkled, sagging skin and a receding hairline; this blending of classicism and realism is an approach to portraiture that reflects the stylistic influence of Ney's mentor, Christian Daniel Rauch.