This is one of five sculptures Rogers made of physicians. He began A Matter of Opinion early in 1884, after devoting his time to the equestrian statue of General Reynolds, and finished it by April 23, although he did not issue it for sale until the Christmas season. It was advertised in the Medical Record as suitable for a physician’s office.
A Matter of Opinion is a standard Rogers composition: three figures are arranged symmetrically and convey the story through their poses and expressions. The sculptor described his humorous representation as "a consultation of physicians over an invalid lady-which results in an evident disagreement." One physician, taking the woman’s pulse, gives his opinion, while the other, obviously indignant over the diagnosis, reacts by glaring at his opponent and buttoning his coat to leave. Typical of Rogers’s late groupings are the wealth of detailed accessory objects, close placement of the figures, and sense of movement.
About sixteen to twenty examples of the work are known (see Wallace, People’s Sculptor, p. 251, for partial listing of collections).
