William Turnbull

Waddington Galleries, London, where acquired by the present owner, 31st May 1990

Cambridge, Jesus College, Sculpture in the Close: An Exhibition of the Works of William Turnbull, 24th June - 31st July 1990, cat. no.12, illustrated (another cast);
London, Waddington Galleries, William Turnbull: New Sculpture, 25th September - 19th October 1991, cat. no.14, illustrated (another cast);
London, Frieze Sculpture Park, 17th - 20th October 2012, (another cast).

Amanda A. Davidson, The Sculpture of William Turnbull, The Henry Moore Foundation in association with Lund Humphries, 2005, cat. no.264, p.175, illustrated pl.10 (another cast);
The Art Newspaper, 11th October 2012, illustrated on cover (another cast).

The following condition report has been kindly prepared by Tessa Jackson of Jackson Sculpture Conservation Ltd., Surrey. There is a full treatment report available on request. The sculpture appears sound although if the fixings within it are to be relied upon then it would be recommended they be checked. The piece was examined unassembled so the assembled stability was not checked. Both elements of the piece appeared to be in good structural order. Condition of surface: The surface has a thick black wax applied to the horse's mane section and the front of the face but not the back of it. The back of the head shows a lovely subtle patina and it may be that the black was applied at a later date. The patina on the piece is in good condition and has been up kept well, the black wax (if desired or found to be inappropriate) could be removed and a new wax placed on, the underlying patina is in good condition. The work has recently benefitted from a light surface clean and re-wax. Please contact the department on +44(0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

`When I make horse’s heads … it’s always been with this idea of having a metaphoric quality … with only part of the horse represented, you didn’t feel the rest of the horse is missing.  That has always fascinated me in sculpture where the part can become the whole.' (The Artist in William Turnbull, Sculpture and Paintings, 24^th June - 18^thJuly 1998 (exh. cat.), Waddington Galleries, London)

The theme of horses is one that was to dominate Turnbull’s work throughout much of his career as one of Britain’s most prolific Post-War sculptors, and one to which the artist returned to a number of times over a period of more than half a century, from one of his earliest sculptures in 1946 right up to his Horse 3 (2000). Turnbull was inspired by his early encounter with the Horse of Selene, from the frieze of the east pediment of the Parthenon and housed in the British Museum, London.  It was whilst the artist was studying at the nearby Slade school that he came across this strong, stoic beast and began what was to remain a life-long affinity with the animals, no doubt captivated by the expansive and continued possibilities that the motif offered.  He was drawn to the close relationship between man and horse that had abounded throughout much of ancient and modern history, and the interdependence of the two.  Throughout the course of his life he worked to refine the animal to its bare minimum, a paring inspired by his fascination with ‘primitive’ African masks, the likes of which also graced the museum’s walls.

As with much of his output, Turnbull looked back to ancient civilisations and societies for inspiration for his sculptures, whether in the arrows and blades of Neolithic man, or the shapely curves of Cycladic figures, and by the late 1980s turned his attention to ancient adzes, tools dating back to the stone age used in the carving and smoothing of wood.  Inspired by the deep, incising lines, it is the overall balance of the form that is at once so fascinating, standing, as in the present work, on a truly monumental scale.  Large Horse can be seen as the culmination of many of his most important ideas and beliefs in terms of his role as a sculptor.  Standing tall, it is the largest of the horses that the artist ever created and clearly displays the centrality of the motif within his working output.