HERBERT WILLIAM PALLISER | BATELEUR'S EAGLE

Mr and Mrs Alan Fortunoff, New York

The Fine Art Society, London, 2017

A. Jarman, Royal Academy Exhibitors 1905-1970: A dictionary of artists and their work in the Summer Exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1987, p. 271

London, Royal Academy of Arts, 1956, no. 1402 Bateleur's Eagle - African Stone

Yorkshire-born Herbert Palliser was active at a time of tradition in sculpture from the Edwardian style to Art Deco. Palliser trained at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and later at the Slade School of Art. He was responsible for architectural sculpture in the City of London, for buildings on King William Street and Vintner’s Place; he also created the pediments for Victoria House (1921-1934) opposite Southampton Row. His compositions often exhibit an Art Deco air, with solid forms and stylised details. Palliser taught at the Royal College of Art between 1931 and 1948, he was a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, and he exhibited at the Royal Academy throughout his life. Animalier sculpture was a key focus and he exhibited numerous such sculptures at the Royal Academy in the 1930's and 1940's: Spider Monkey (1934), Goat (1935) and Ibis (1940). Palliser also exhibited at the New English Art Club, the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, and the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts.

The Bateleur is a medium sized eagle which can be found throughout the African continent and is the national emblem of Zimbabwe. The word is French for 'street performer'. Palliser has linked the sculpture to Africa with the use of what is described as 'African stone' in the RA catalogue from 1956. The sculpture itself with its simplified forms and hard material recalls ancient Egyptian sculptures of the god Horus, who takes the form of an Eagle.