Lot 76
  • 76

Jacques Lipchitz

Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 USD
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Description

  • Jacques Lipchitz
  • Study for Figure: Maquette No. 3 (also known as Figure)
  • Inscribed Lipchitz and numbered 6/7
  • Bronze
  • Height: 10 in.
  • 25.4 cm
  • Conceived in 1926-30 and cast in an edition of 7.

Provenance

Acquired directly from the artist

Exhibited

New York, Otto Gearson Gallery, Jacques Lipchitz: 157 Small Bronze Sketches, 1963, illustrated in the catalogue

Literature

Bert Van Bork, Jacques Lipchitz, The Artist at Work, New York, 1966, n.n., illustration of another cast p. 157
H. H. Arnason, Jacques Lipchitz: Sketches in Bronze, New York. 1969, no. 52, illustration of another cast p. 85
Ladislas Segy, "The Ashanti Akua'ba Statues as Archetype, and the Egyptian Ankh: A theory of morphological assumptions," Anthropos, Sankt Augustin, 1963, fig. 11, illustration of this cast, p. 851
Alan G. Wilkinson, The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz, a catalogue raisoneé: The Paris Years 1919-1940, vol. 1, London, 1996, no. 205, illustration of another cast p. 111

Condition

Bronze with a blackish green patina. Surface in generally good condition aside from surface dirt.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

The present lot is a maquette for the monumental sculpture currently at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Writes the artist of the creation of this model: "...I must have begun to see this as a primitive totem, for in the next sketch I transformed the upper part into a head with an indication of staring eyes. This was the genesis of the great Figure 1926-30, a work that summarized many of my ideas dating back to 1915. Specifically, it pulled together those different directions of massive, material frontality and of aerial openness in which I had been working during the 1920s. It is also very cleary a subject sculpture, an image with a specific and rather frightening personality. Although the Figure has been associated with African sculpture and the resemblance is apparent, it is now evident to me that it emerged, step by step, from findings I made in my cubist and postcubist sculpture over." (Jacques Lipchitz with H.H. Arnason, My Life in Sculpture, New York, 1972, p. 90)