In "A Young Mother," Vonnoh synthesized impressionistic handling of form and realistic emotion to produce one of the most sensitive studies of the mother-and-child theme in American sculpture. With the instant success of this piece, the sculptor’s name became synonymous with representations of modern motherhood in which an intimate psychological mood takes precedence over close physical description. Vonnoh estimated that thirty bronze casts were made of "A Young Mother," making it her most popular statuette.