In 1909, Enrico Caruso created this one-of-a-kind bronze caricature of himself as a laughing Buddha for his friend Arturo Toscanini, the most acclaimed symphony conductor of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Born into poverty, Caruso became a multimillionaire operatic tenor who so loved America that he paid his taxes on January 1st each year, and added extra to show his appreciation for being allowed to live here.

Toscanini was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory. Toscanini was at various times the music director of La Scala Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.