Although scholars have emphasized the importance of isolating the objective evaluation of evidence from interpretation, in practice, it has proved difficult to determine the distinction. This study examines the scholarship on description for a select number of well-known Greek statues from the eighteenth-century through the present. The impact of the historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts of this specialized scholarship is demonstrated through considerations of issues such as ethnicity, psychology, theories about artistic form, and evolving conceptions of nude and clothed figures.