Sworders
Lot 541
*Sir Jacob Epstein RA (1880-1959),
'St Michael and the Devil' - a maquette for the sculpture at Coventry Cathedral, bronze, light brown patination,
51cm high, on a wooden plinth Conceived in 1956
Provenance: with Bernard Danenberg, New York;
with Maxwell Galleries, San Francisco;
with Gillian Jason Gallery, London, 1989.
Literature: R.Buckle, 'Jacob Epstein Sculptor', London, 1963, p.393, no. 624, pl. 624 (another cast illustrated); E.P.Schinman and B.A.Schinman (ed.), 'Jacob Epstein, A Catalogue of the Collection of Edward P.Schinman', 1970, p.55 (another cast illustrated);
E.Silber, 'The Sculpture of Epstein', Oxford, 1986, p.223, no. 502, (clay model illustrated).
'St Michael and the Devil', regarded by many as Epstein's masterpiece, was mounted on the cathedral wall in 1960, unfortunately the year after the sculptor's death. It depicts St Michael, the patron saint of the cathedral, standing victorious over the Devil, and serves as a symbol of the triumph of good over evil after the bombing of November 1940 and the devastating fire which destroyed the old building.
Epstein was a controversial choice for the commission and the Reconstruction Committee had misgivings for a variety of reasons. The architect of the new cathedral, Basil Spence, regarded him as the greatest living British sculptor and went to great lengths to promote his cause. A visit to Epstein by the Provost of the cathedral Richard Howard, accompanied by Spence, helped to erase those doubts, and Howard was much taken by the sculptor's charm and sensitivity.
*Artist's Resale Right may apply to this lot. CONDITION REPORT: No obvious defects.
