HENRI GAUDIER-BRZESKA | Three Monkeys

Kettle's Yard Collection, Cambridge
Thomas Gruenebaum, New York
Sale, Christie's London, 9th March 1990, lot 217, where acquired by the previous owner and thence gifted to the present owner

London, Marlborough Fine Art, Gaudier-Brzeska, drawings & sculptures, February 1965, (another cast);
London, Tate Gallery, Pound's Artists : Ezra Pound and the visual arts in London, Paris and Italy, 11th September - 10th November 1985, (another cast);
Edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery of Art, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, 1891-1915, sculptures, with a selection of drawings from Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, 12th August - 10th September 1972; with tour to Leeds and Cardiff (another cast);
London, Mercury Gallery, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, 1891-1915 : sculpture and drawings, 15th March - 16th April 1977, cat. no.7 (another cast);
New York, Gruenebaum Gallery, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Sculpture and Drawings, 21st September - 29th October 1977, cat. no.5 (another cast);
Edinburgh, Mercury Gallery, Gaudier-Brzeska, 1891-1915, drawings and sculpture, 30th March - 28th April 1984, cat. no.4 (another cast);
London, Mercury Gallery, Gaudier-Brzeska, 1891-1915, 6th May - 6th June 1987, cat. no.4 (another cast);
London, Mercury Gallery, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska 1891-1915: an exhibition of sculpture and works on paper to mark the centenary of the artist's birth, 25th September - 26th October 1991, cat. no.20 (another cast);
London, Mercury Gallery, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, 1891-1915 sculpture, watercolours and drawings, 22 November - 23 December 1995, cat. no.14 (another cast);
London, Mercury Gallery, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, 1891-1915, sculpture and drawings, 21st October - 21st November 1998, cat. no.3 (another cast);
Villeneuve d'Asq, Musée d'Art Moderne de Lille Métropole, Les Années Cubistes, 13th March - 18th July 1999, unnumbered (another cast);
London, Browse and Darby, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, 1891-1915, 26th June - 26th July 2002, cat. no.8 (another cast);
London, Browse and Darby, Henri Gaudier Brzeska, 1891-1915, 18th June - 25th July 2008, cat. no.12 (another cast);
Paris, Centre Pompidou, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, 24th June - 14th September 2009; with tour to Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orleans, cat. no.46, illustrated (another cast).

Harold Stanley Ede, A Life of Gaudier-Brzeska, William Heinemann Ltd., London, 1930, p.204;
Roger Cole, Burning to Speak: The Life and Art of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Phaidon, Oxford, 1978, cat. no.13, p.60;
Evelyn Silber, Gaudier-Brzeska. Life and Art, Thames and Hudson, London and New York, 1996, cat. no.103, pp.274-5 (dated 1914).

The sculpture appears sound.There is a very faint line running, most likely from the mould, from the central monkey's forehead down to the lower right of the sculpture. There is a very small nick to the central monkey's proper left eye. There are very faint air bubbles throughout, in keeping with the Artist's material, and a small number of faint scuffs to the surface of the sculpture, including to the protruding edges of the monkeys' faces and limbs. There is evidence of surface dirt throughout, particularly to the creviced areas of the surface. Subject to the above, the work appears to be in very good overall condition. The work is freestanding. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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."

We are grateful to Roger Cole, whose publication on Henri Gaudier-Brzeska No Stone Unturned will be published later this year with a newly revised catalogue raisonné, for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.