Ivan Mestrovic

made for Milica Banac, Zagreb;
thence by family descent to Vane Ivanovic, Dubrovnik, until 1969;
Vane Ivanovic, Formentor, Mallorca;
and thence by family descent, the Philippines;
and thence by descent to the present owner

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The sculpture has been professionally cleaned. There is some minor greening, including to the back of her hair and the fingers of the proper right hand. There are some light dirt marks to the back.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is the second of Ivan Meštrović's portraits of his friend, the formidable socialite Milica Banać, to emerge in these rooms in the past year. It too is recorded in the Mestrovic Papers at the University of Notre Dame and is dated to circa 1912 there. Where the gilt bronze relief from 1925 sold last year showed a mature sitter in a monumental three-quarter view, the present bust is modelled fully in the round and imbued with a force that captures the dark, youthful spirit of both Meštrović and Banać. Like the previous portrait, the bust was probably made for the sitter and was inherited by Vane Ivanovic, a shipping tycoon, diplomat, Olympic athlete, and among the greatest collectors of sculptures by Meštrović.

According to her son’s memoirs, Milica Banać (née Popović) was renowned for her intelligence, beauty and bearing from childhood in the wide surroundings of her birth town Osijek. Later in life, in larger circles in Zagreb, London, Paris and the Riviera, she continued to attract suitors despite her powerful husbands and a sharp tongue. She was a confident and knowledgeable woman, not too modest to correct Colette about men or André Maurois on his knowledge of the English. From 1925 to 1930 she lived in London with her second husband, the shipping magnate Božidar Banać. She became acquainted with the substantial Anglo-Croat contingent which included several patrons of Meštrović. She made much publicised appearances at Ascot, Epsom, and the Embassy nightclub but lived on the fringes of English life otherwise. In the years after her London sojourn Milica entertained the likes of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the Prince of Greece and Prince Rainer of Monaco from her homes in Dalmatia, New York, and finally Monaco, where she died in 1970.

Milica Banać and Meštrović probably met in the higher circles of Zagreb in the 1910s. Just like Milica’s brother and second husband, Meštrović was fanatically engaged in Yugoslav politics during those years and was an important supporter of its unification. Meštrović was also close friends with Marija Banać (née Račić), Božidar Banać’ first wife, of whom he sculpted a number of portraits and in whose memory Meštrović created one of his masterpieces, the Racić memorial in Cavtat, between 1918 and 1922.

RELATED LITERATURE
University of Notre Dame Archives, Mestrovic Papers, CMST 1/59 and GMST 10/22; V. Ivanović, LX. Memoirs of a Jugoslav, New York/ London, 1977, pp. 40-54