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Lot 36
HENRI GAUDIER-BRZESKA (FRENCH 1891-1915) THE MADONNA OF 'THE MIRACLE' WITH SELF-PORTRAIToil on canvas55 x 43cm; 21 3/4 x 17in74 X 61cm; 29 x 24in (framed)Property from a Deceased EstateProvenance:Mr & Mrs Thomas Leman Hare (commissioned from the artist. Thomas Leman Hare was a publisher and collector and in the 1920s became editor of Apollo magazine)Mrs Genevieve Shillingford (god-daughter of Mrs Leman Hare)Miss Joia Shillingford (daughter of the above)Sale, Sotheby's London, 11th November 1981, lot 242 (sold by the above)A. Leslie (probably purchased at the above sale)Alton Gallery, BarnesPurchased by the late owner from the above prior to 1990Painted in 1912, this is a unique example in Gaudier-Brzeska’s oeuvre both in being painted on canvas rather than paper, and in the silhouette self-portrait holding a brush. The statuette in the foreground of the composition is a plaster Gaudier had recently completed of Madame Carmi in the leading role of the Madonna in The Miracle performed at the London Olympia. The plaster is now in the collection of Kettle's Yard, Cambridge (fig. 1). The present painting was almost certainly executed in the Thameside home of his patrons, Mr and Mrs Leman Hare, on Chiswick Mall. Thomas Leman Hare (1872-1935) was a painter, collector and writer on art, who subsequently became editor of Apollo magazine. Friends of the Leman Hares included fellow art writer Haldane Macfall, painter and illustrator Claud Lovat Fraser and the aspiring young writer Enid Bagnold, who later achieved fame as the author of National Velvet. Gaudier-Brzeska had arrived from his native France with his companion Sophie Brzeska early in 1911 and had entered the orbit of this group in January 1912 after writing to Haldane Macfall in response to an article he had published in the English Review. Gaudier modelled portraits of several of them and contacts with more advanced artists and writers followed notably with the sculptor Jacob Epstein, some of the Camden Town painters and with Roger Fry’s Omega Workshop. In 1914 he was elected to the London Group and emerged as one of the leaders of the short-lived, radical Vorticist Group before his tragically premature death in France aged only 23. Performed from 21 December 1911 to 10 February 1912, The Miracle, produced by the German impressario Max Reinhardt was an extravaganza - part medieval miracle play, part wordless musical pageant involving around 1,700 performers including orchestra and chorus, horses, actors and a set evoking the interior of a medieval church which is probably that sketched on the verso of Gaudier’s canvas (fig. 2). It was a hit which subsequently toured in Europe and the US, was revived in the 1920s and filmed in three versions. It also launched the career of Maria Carmi who incarnated the central figure, a sculpture of the Madonna and the redemptive figure of the nun at the core of the plot.The statuette of Maria Carmi (1880-1957) was one of Gaudier’s earliest commissions. He was paid £5. The commission and the process of its making were described both by Sophie Brzeska in the ‘Journal’ of her life with Gaudier (Cambridge University Library) and by Gaudier himself in a letter, dated 12 February 1912, to Haldane Macfall (National Art Library).In Sophie Brzeska’s account Mrs Leman Hare arrived at their Chelsea lodgings, just as they were packing up to move, to offer Gaudier the commission and to insist that he and Sophie Brzeska accompany the Hares to the final performance who had already seen it eight times; ‘There is a large number of people who admire Maria Carmi as much as we do. So my husband had the idea to ask Lord Northcliffe and a few other gentlemen whether they might not like to contribute to having a bust made of this divine Madonna. Lord Northcliffe was enchanted by the idea. . . We are going to have a copy cast in bronze to offer to Madame Carmi and then fifty or so in plaster which will sell easily.’Two days later Gaudier gave a down-to-earth account in a letter to Macfall, describing the sculpture as a statuette rather than a bust. ‘Off we went as tired as could be, made about sixty sketches of the subject, came back home…at 1 o’clock yesterday, and spent the whole morning putting up the clay for the thing.’ He added ‘Mr Hare gave me a very good idea. He suggested that I should indicate on the plaster cast the different colours gold, red and blue and this I will do.’On 26 February Gaudier was able to report to Macfall that the mould was finished and he expected to be able to cast the piece that evening. A second plain white cast was made, later probably destroyed, but the projected edition never came to fruition.The archive image of the statuette (fig. 1) shows short brush strokes of colour applied in an Impressionist technique although all the colour has now deteriorated to dark brown in this sculpture (Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge). A pastel of The Madonna alone (Private Collection) is more densely pigmented in red, blue, green and ochre (H Brodzky, Gaudier-Brzeska Drawings, 1946, colour frontispiece). One may surmise that Gaudier included the mirrored image of himself as a painter rather than sculptor in his canvas in acknowledgement of Leman Hare’s colour suggestion.We are grateful to Dr Evelyn Silber for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry. fig. 1, Archival photograph of Gaudier-Brzeska, Mme Carmi as the Madonna in 'The Miracle', plaster, 1912 (courtesy of Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge)fig. 2, The reverse of the present lot, almost certainly showing the stage set of The Miracle performed at Olympia Exhibition Halls 1911-12
Lot 61
FRENCH SCHOOL (18TH CENTURY)A PAIR OF PORTRAITS OF A LADY AND GENTLEMAN, BUST-LENGTHOil on canvas, ovalPortrait of the gentleman signed and dated 'Sotoini 1774' (centre right)62 x 50cm (24¼ x 19½ in.) (2)Condition Report: Both canvases have been relined and the paint layers appear stable. Some surface cracking throughout and the stretcher marks are slightly visible. Lady: UV reveals scattered retouching of the cracking and stretcher marks including in the sitter's face and neck, as well as a restoration in the background upper left. Gentleman: the painting is signed and dated 'Sotoini 1774' centre right. UV reveals some scattered retouching including very small areas in his face. Condition Report Disclaimer
Lot 67
JOSEPH WRIGHT OF DERBY (BRITISH 1734-1797)PORTRAIT OF FRANCIS FOX (1724-1789), BUST-LENGTH, IN A BROWN COAT; AND PORTRAIT OF DOROTHY FOX (1733-1793), IN A BLACK AND WHITE DRESS AND HATOil on canvas75 x 62cm (29½ x 24¼ in.) (2)Provenance:By descent through the sitters' family Exhibited:Derby, Corn Exchange, A Catalogue of the Art and Industrial Exhibition..., 1866 (nos. 206, 209), lent by Rev. S. Fox Literature:Benedict Nicolson, Joseph Wright of Derby : Painter of Light, London, Paul Mellon Foundation for British Art, 1968, nos. 62 and 63In his 1968 Catalogue Raisonné Benedict Nicholson suggests that it is more likely that the sitters represent Mr. and Mrs. William, however this was presumably based principally on the location of the Fox portraits entry in the account book, where it appears directly above entries for various views in the Lake District of the mid-1790s. However, Wright's account book does not follow a strict chronological order and is not a reliable mechanism for dating purposes. In addition, the identities of the sitters are confirmed not only by the old labels attached to the stretchers, but also by their provenance, by direct descent from Francis and Dorothy Fox to the present owner. Both works are to be included in Martin Postle's forthcoming catalogue raisonné.
Lot 22
AN AUSTRIAN PORCELAIN ROUNDEL, late 19th century, painted with the bust portrait of Mme. Recamier wearing a purple band in her curled hair and a diaphanous white dress, indistinctly signed (Brutin?), titled on reverse, 4" diameter, framed (Est. plus 24% premium inc. VAT)Good, no chips, cracks or restoration
Lot 507
A 19th century oval portrait miniature of a gentleman by Thomas Hargreaves, bust length, wearing a navy coat, cream waistcoat and stock, signed with initials ‘T H’, mounted verso with curled locks of hair arranged round a seed pearl-bordered oval blue enamel panel bearing the initials ‘W H’, watercolour on ivory, in a gilt metal plain frame, portrait dimensions 72 x 58 mm. £300-£500 --- Provenance: By family descent. Thomas Hargreaves (1775 - 1846), of Liverpool; apprenticed to Sir Thomas Lawrence; exhib. R A 1798, 1808 & 1809; a member of the Liverpool Academy. His three sons, Francis, George and (James?) all became painters of miniatures. Please refer to Jewellery Department for Ivory Licence No.
Lot 273
A vintage circa 1940's novelty cast iron money box modelled as the bust of a man with a red shirt and bowtie holding out a hand by his mouth. Mechanism fully working. Manufacturers details to underside. Measures approx. 15cm tall. Along with a Victorian cast iron hexagonal money box. Marked 'Bank' and modelled as a post box. Measures approx. 16cm tall. Age related wear commensurate with age to both pieces / crack to underside of post box base.
Lot 9
A miniature plaster bust,20th century, in classical dress, raised on a sectional turned column and fluted supports, under a glass dome on a wooden stand,39.5cm high including plinthdome 45cm high (4)Condition ReportGlass dome slightly wobbly and does not sit securely. The actual plinth for the bust splits into two pieces (plinth being quite crudely painted in areas). Some slight green mottled discoloration to the surface and glue residue to where bust meets plinth - either crude manufacture or has been repaired. The square base of the plinth with baize lining underneath.
Lot 510
A group of decorative oil paintings,comprising:a bust of Julius Caesar, 19th century,a portrait of a Roman, anda portrait of Cybele wearing a turreted crown,largest 98.5 x 49cm (3)Condition ReportFrame sizes - Cybele 107 x 57cm; Caesar 56 x 43cm; Roman 76 x 53cm. Caesar portrait unframed, with several holes to canvas and loss of paintwork, edges of canvas worn, in aesthetically distressed condition. Roman - Loss and wear to paint surface, particularly top right, some holes to canvas, blistering/water damage to the neck area, losses to the frame's gesso. Athena in good cosmetic condition with minor traces of wear and age, small loss to frame.
Lot 516
A group of museum studies,late 19th/early 20th century, comprising a portrait bust of a boy by Mabel Lumley, c.1912, and four other oil on canvas studies depicting classical sculptures,largest 46 x 35.5cm (5)Condition ReportAll unframed apart from one. None glazed. Small areas of loss of paint throughout. Wear and degradation to edges. In moderate but attractively distressed condition.
Lot 31
A group of grand tour sculptures,comprising: a bronze figure of Spinario, after the antique, on a rosso antico marble base,25.5cm high, a resin bust of a male wearing a laurel wreath,28cm high, andan oxidised metal bust of a bearded man,19.5cm high (3)Condition ReportThe Spinario figure's base is missing a plinth. Few scuffs/knocks to resin bust.
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