Masters of Sculpture, African Americans, et. al.

Bill

Hodges

Gallery

Masters of Sculpture African Americans, et. al.

Inside Cover: Willie Cole Elegba (North America), 2000

Papier-mâché, Beads, Cowrie Shells on Wooden Base 35 ½ x 13 ½ x 13 ¾ in. (90.2 x 34.3 x 34.9 cm)

Right: Richard Hunt Inside and Outside the Frame, 2006-2020

Cast and Welded Bronze 77 x 36 ¼ x 30 ½ in. (195.6 x 92.1 x 77.5 cm)

Masters Of Sculpture African Americans, et. al.

12 May - 6 August 2022 Bill Hodges Gallery

529 West 20th Street, #10E | New York, NY 10011 212-333-2640 • www.billhodgesgallery.com

Foreword The Third Dimension

No, no, no, not that kind.

Of the more than thirty catalogues this gallery has produced, “Masters of Sculpture” is our first devoted solely to sculpture – works that exist in three dimensions. Unlike flat works i.e., paintings and drawings, sculpture is composed for the viewer to see multiple sides…

A Sculpture Exhibition

There was a time, which might still exist, if only in my mind, that sculpture was the world’s most respected art form. However, quite often, American museums prioritize the acquisition and celebration of flat works of art, especially paintings, over sculpture; because they consume almost no floor space. This trend has a few exceptions. A favorite museum of mine, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, quite possibly America’s largest, arguably has over ten thousand sculptural works. Incidentally, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was also the first place I saw a work by Edmonia Lewis, the oh-so-very important American sculptor of African descent, who spent many years working in Europe. Within the historic walls of this museum, I learned to appreciate three-dimensional works of art. This is not to say that two-dimensional works are not beautiful, meaningful and important in their own right; but sometimes you need depth and you can only get that from the third dimension.

Richard Hunt, The Master.

For my scheckles, Richard Hunt is one of the most important sculptors working today. He is highly undervalued and tremendously underrated - and a real people person. Those of us who follow in his circle are well aware of his importance and, through our greed, continue to acquire as many major works as possible. Sadness abounds, because he’ll probably pass this life with only twenty percent of American museums having collected his works, and even worse; only a handful of the curators of major museums are in knowledge of his importance. In the twenty years since I met Richard, I have watched him work, work, and work some more. After he puts down the hammer…he picks up his grinding tool; sometimes climbing a ladder high to where I’d be afraid to ascend, and asks for a tool to bang, cut, weld or grind some more!

Numerous occasions we have gone to dinner, most of the time only he and I, with him driving (oh my goodness the fear I’ve always had with him driving) and afterwards, he would sometimes drop me off at my hotel or other times would go back to the studio. If the studio was his destination…back to work he would go… picking up that heavy hammer and banging away, back to what I feel is his true love.

Of the more than twenty works in this exhibition, the vast majority are by Richard Hunt, a person who I support, admire and love.

These past five years being around him have taught me much about humility. Such a humble soul even at 86 years old and having produced hundreds of works that garner attention in museums, college campuses inside and out, institutions, offices, public and private, gardens and of course individuals’ homes, again both inside and out. An amazing person and I am honored to call him my friend.

Melvin Edwards

For more than 60 years, Melvin Edwards has produced exceptional works of art and for the majority of those years he was known for his iconic series, Lynch Fragments. Thick, heavy, solidly welded, iron sculpture; this series is known for usually encompassing a chain, sometimes anvils, hammers and screws. I’ve always felt the Lynch Fragments series came from the anger he felt of having his people stolen from Africa and sent into enslavement. Our gallery has been blessed to have acquired at least three of these magnificent works.

Though I have always respected his Lynch Fragments series because of their powerful symbolism, my love has always been reserved for his site-specific iron works; both his painted sculptures and those left natural to the elements. Many of Edwards’ recent sculptures are reminiscent of his early works. In this catalogue, I am happy to present two early works; Yellow Way, ca. 1970’s (p. 37), and Culture, 1988 (p. 41).

The first time I saw Edwards’ work in stainless-steel sculpture was at CDS Gallery about ten years ago. It was a small work about twelve inches tall, very similar to Culture as it featured the motif of shackle chains. After asking about the price and availability, I was told that it was available and that the owner of the gallery would get back to me. I did get a call from that gallery owner the next day, but to my disappointment, I was informed it was in fact, not available! For more than ten years since, I had not seen another stainless-steel work by Edwards available until I was made aware of the present work, Culture, at which point, I was determined not to let it get away.

There are many untold stories within these pages, from how I was able to acquire the works within, my knowledge of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Carpeaux prior to their acquisition, to the unrecognized museum-worthiness of Agustín Cárdenas as a major artist. And of course, Willie Cole, a genius; all he wants to do is create works of art - and there hasn’t been one work of his that I’ve seen, that doesn’t hit the bullseye. It would be a disappointment for him not to have a retrospective by a major museum in the next few years… he is deserving.

Epilogue

“Life’s a journey” … Age brings those words to ring ever so true. Those of us who are passionate collectors always have an insatiable urge and want for what we do, that is our journey.

I am proud, honored and blessed to have such wonderful individuals who actually run the gallery and endure my crazies. Thank you and I truly mean it from the heart, for without them, this catalogue and much of what is done at the gallery would not be possible. As I remember from elementary school “No man is an island.”

I am Blessed.

Billy P.S. Kinda sad the new Cárdenas marble sculpture won’t make it into the catalogue…

2

3

Richmond Barthé (1901 - 1989) Richmond Barthé is a pioneer of American Sculpture. He showed artistic prowess from an early age and attended the Art Institute of Chicago to study painting - despite not having completed high school as a youth due to illness and work. While at the Art Institute, he enrolled in a sculpture class taught by German artist Charles Schroeder. This class was pivotal to Barthé, and it realigned his trajectory; shifting his focus from painting to sculpture.

Following his graduation from the institute, Barthé moved to New York in 1930. With a fellowship from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, he established his studio in Harlem. However, soon after, he found it reasonable to relocate to Greenwich Village for the convenience of many of his clients. There, he was exposed to the downtown artists, and an abundance of inspiration; which he translated through his work. Barthé would often sculpt the forms of dancers and performers from memory when he could not afford a sitting model.

Growing tired of the violence and chaos of New York, Barthé moved to Jamaica in 1947; where he was well-received, yet soon driven out, again, by violence due to local political conflicts. In the mid-1960s, Barthé emigrated to Europe.

He lived in Switzerland, Italy, and Spain for five years before returning to America, and settling in Pasadena, California.

Barthé was the winner of many awards, including: the 1930 Rosenwald Fellowship, the 1940 Guggenheim Fellowship, an induction into the National Sculpture Society in 1945, an election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters that same year, as well as an award from President Carter in 1980.

In the final years of his life, Barthé prepared and archived his artwork. One of his most recognized American public pieces is Rose McClendon, a 42-inch sculpture installed at Fallingwater, a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, located in Western Pennsylvania. Barthé’s other works are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; and several other museums and institutions. __ Maasai Warrior is a small yet striking cast bronze bust of an African male from the Maasai tribe, inhabiting both Tanzania and Kenya. His hair is styled in three dreadlocks and his dark angular features are sharp, strong, and unique. With high cheekbones and fierce black eyes, Maasai Warrior radiates elegance, power, and intensity.

4

Maasai Warrior, 1933 (Cast 1986)

Cast Bronze on Marble Base Edition 10 of 25 6 ½ x 3 ¾ x 4 ¼ in. (16.5 x 9.6 10.8 cm) Base: 1 ⅛ x 4 ¼ x 4 ¼ in. (2.9 x 10.8 x 10.8 cm) Total: 7 ⅝ x 4 ¼ x 4 ¼ in. (19.4 x 10.8 x 10.8 cm) Signed, Dated and Numbered: Barthé 33-86 © 10/25 Provenance: Private Collection; New York, NY Literature: Margaret Rose Vendryes. Barthé, A Life in Sculpture. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2008. p. 166 (plaster model illustrated and titled: African Man) Samella Lewis. Barthé, His Art in Life. N.p.: Unity Works, 2009. pp. 96-97

Barthé 5

Quo Vadis (Where are you going?) is originated from a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz entitled Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero. Barthé was inspired by the same-titled 1951 Hollywood movie and shaped this masculine character with the adaptation of Sienkiewicz’s epic in mind. The proChristian sentiments in the Quo Vadis story perhaps resonated with Richmond Barthé, an artist of deep Christian faith and a frequent sculptor of religious figures. Barthé was also drawn to celebrities of theater and dance, and the hero of this statue complicates that religious sentiment with a celebration of masculine physique and power. The on-screen presence of actor Robert Taylor in the 1951 film Quo Vadis inspired Barthé to finish his sculpture as a sexually potent revision of the Roman man for an erotic 20th-century gaze.

6 Barthé

Quo Vadis, ca. 1951 Cast Bronze with Dark Brown Patina on Marble Base 21 x 9 ½ x 7 ⅛ in. (53.3 x 24.1 x 18.1 cm) Base: 1 x 9 x 7 ⅜ in. (2.5 x 22.9 x 18.7 cm) Total: 22 x 9 ½ x 7 ⅜ in. (55.9 x 24.1 x 18.7 cm) Signed on the Back: BARTHÉ Provenance: Louis Hecht; New York, NY Philip H. Rubin; New York, NY Private Collection; New York (2013)

Barthé 7

Camille Billops (1933 - 2019) African American multi-talented artist and filmmaker, Camille Billops, worked in a variety of disciplines, but is principally recognized today for her documentary film-making, and contribution as an archivist of African American art and culture. Billops was born on August 12, 1933, in Los Angeles, California. She studied at Los Angeles State College during the 1960s major in Special Education, and later graduated with a B.A. from California State University, followed by an M.F.A. from the City College of New York in 1975.

Billops’ early career focused on sculpture; although she occasionally worked with painting, ceramics, printmaking, and photography. By the 1980s, she established herself as a filmmaker through documentaries. Notably, her own family became the subject of many of her films. Of the most well-known of these films is Suzanne, Suzanne (1982), a film about drug addiction within her own extended family; and Finding Christa (1991), which explores the artist’s reunion with her abandoned daughter. The latter touched on taboo subjects around issues of motherhood, the African American family, and trauma. In 1992, Finding Christa was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival. This film stands as Billops’ most recognized and acclaimed controversial work.

Billops’ legacy extends beyond her artistic practice, to include the role of archivist of African American art and culture. In 1968, she established, with partner James Hatch (a scholar of African American theater), the HatchBillops Collection of African American literature in Manhattan (currently housed at Emory University). Billops’ artwork is in the collections of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA; Harold A and Ann R Sorgenti of Contemporary African American Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA; Museum of Modern Art, NY; Nasher Museum of Art, Durham, NC; the Petrucci Family, Union Township, NJ; Photographers’ Gallery, London, UK; and Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY; among many others. __ Billops transfers her colorful, expressive, almost caricaturish paintings of people interacting in a non-euclidean space onto the surface of a large black ceramic bowl of her creation, Title Unknown. This unique painting resembles a reel, with no beginning and no end, no left or right side. Inspired by African art and its aesthetics of color, Billops paints in a playful, almost childlike manner, similar to Matisse and Picasso. With a pastel palette and in her raw and distinct style, Billops paints figures of black and white people interacting in an outdoor context of land and occasional trees, surrounded by a black background, the bowl. Billops illustrates loosely drawn forms with black contours colored in flat washes of paint on its surface. The brushstrokes are visible, and the shapes are arranged like puzzle pieces. Although the foreground and background seem to merge as one flat surface of colored shapes, this image has depth. As evident in her depictions of the small trees and houses, Billops uses scale to create, distance, and depict the vastness of land. The contrast between the background and foreground colors brings light to the images.

She creates a boundary between the interior and exterior of the bowl with yellow brush strokes along its inner rim.

Thus, producing a dance between light and dark, balancing the composition and its colors.

8

Title Unknown, 1993

Ceramic Bowl 14 ½ x 17 ½ x 17 ½ in. (36.8 x 44.5 x 44.5 cm) Signed, Dated and Inscribed on Bottom: C. Billops 10/93 n.y.c. No Pb

Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist

Billops 9

Pierre Bonnard (1867 - 1947) Pierre Bonnard is regarded as one of the greatest colorists of his time. His paintings, which bridge Impressionism with Modernism, depict an intimate portrait of France’s Belle Époque.

Pierre Bonnard was born on October 3rd, 1867, into a middle-class family in Fontenay-aux-Roses, France. He was initially educated in the classics, and at his father’s request, law. While studying law, he turned his attention to art, and therefore, enrolled at the École des-Beaux-Arts in 1888.

Bonnard was associated with the Symbolist group of painters, Les Nabis (The Prophets); following a principle that eschewed traditional three-dimension modeling in favor of flat areas of color. Bonnard’s paintings followed this scheme, based on the group’s inspirations from artists like Paul Gauguin, and the work of Japanese printmakers.

He did, however, divert from the Les Nabis’ aesthetic, with a style that embraced a greater sense of joy, and avoided mystical and symbolist themes. His preferred subjects were scenes of everyday life.

Working within the frame of domestic life led Bonnard to being labeled an ‘intimist’. Although versatile in his abilities with portraiture, landscapes, rural and urban subject matters, his paintings are celebrated for his approach to domestic interiors. Female subjects were one of Bonnard’s particular captivations, and he frequently painted portraits of his wife, Marthe de Meligny.

Beyond painting, Bonnard’s scope included sculpture and decorative art - a characteristic of the Les Nabis artists.

He also produced work as a commercial illustrator, and worked as a printmaker; providing illustrations for avantgarde publishers and authors. In 1896, he held his first solo show, at the Galerie Durand-Ruel, included paintings, lithographs, and posters.

In 1903, Bonnard participated in the first Salon d’Automne and he kept refining and revising his personal style throughout the early 20th century. He traveled abroad extensively and worked at various locations in the south of France in addition to Paris. In 1918, he was selected as an honorary President of the Association of Young French Artists along with Renoir. Bonnard passed away on January 23, 1947, in Le Cannet, France. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, organized major Bonnard retrospectives in 1946 and 1964. __ Baigneuse au Rocher son Pied Droit is a loosely rendered terracotta sculpture of a seated woman as she washes her right foot. This is a rare example of artists Introducing impressionist techniques to the realm of sculpture. The abstracted female figure is rendered in a natural setting. Applying the same rough texture to both the model and the stone allows the model to seamlessly blend into her surroundings. As in his abstract expressionist paintings, there is no distinction between the model and the stone.

10

Baigneuse au Rocher Essuyant son Pied Droit, 1906 Terracotta

6 x 3 ½ x 3 ⅞ in. (15.2 x 8.9 x 9.8 cm) Initialed on Right: PB Inscribed and Foundry Stamped: SLG Cire C.Valsuani perdue Provenance: Lipa Drojevic; Paris, France Ancienne Jean-Claude Romand; Paris, France (1962) Le Garrec Collection; Paris, France Private Collection Literature: Antoine Terrasse. Bonnard. Paris, 1988. p. 98 Gilles Genty and Pierrette Vernon. Bonnard Inédits. Paris, 2003. pp. 202-203, no. 553 Anne Pingeot. Bonnard Sculpteur, catalogue raisonné. Paris, 2006. pp. 142-147

Bonnard 11

Agustín Cárdenas (1927 - 2001) Agustín Cárdenas was an Afro-Cuban sculptor best known for his organic and sensual, almost fluid, stone volumes; which blend Surrealist ideals with African themes. Poet anti-colonialist, and celebrated founder of Surrealism, André Breton said of his artistic style that it was “efficient as a dragonfly.”¹ A descendant of Senegalese and Congolese slaves, Cárdenas was born in an infamous slave port and sugar plantation in Cuba. His artistic career began in Havana, as he studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro, under one of Cuba’s great sculptors, Juan José Sicre. In 1955, Cárdenas moved to Paris and joined the Surrealist movement; where he befriended artists like Constantin Brâncuşi, Salvador Dalí, and André Breton. His style, recognized by undulating forms and elongated silhouettes, is a fusion of his artistic community, the cultural atmosphere of the PanAfrican Movement in Paris, and his incorporated aspects of African heritage and of Dogon totems.

Cárdenas’ work was exhibited internationally, and was well-received; earning him several prestigious awards, of which: the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France, 1976; and the Premio Nacional de Artes Plásticas from the Cuban Ministry of Culture, 1995. Since 1968, Cárdenas has lived and worked in Meudon-Bellevue, and at his studio in Nogent-sur-Marne, France. He also worked in Canada, Austria, Japan, Israel, Korea, as well as Carrara in Italy where his acclaimed marble pieces were sculpted.

Since the second half of the 20th century, Cárdenas took part in over a hundred group exhibitions, and was the focus of over forty monographic exhibitions. His works are in many permanent collections around the world, including: the Centre National des Arts du Cirque, Paris, France; Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris, France; Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air, Paris, France; Musée d’Art et d’Industrie, Saint-Étienne, France; Hakone Open-Air Museum, Hakone, Japan; Musée d’Art Contemporain, Argel, Algeria; Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas, Venezuela; Kendall Art Center, Miami, Florida; and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana in Havana, Cuba. The artist passed away in Havana, Cuba in 2001. __ Le Cygne (The Swan) (p. 13), is a graceful surrealist abstraction of a white swan, carved out of white Carrara marble and fixed onto the center of a thick black cylindrical base. The forms are heavily sanded to create a smooth, lustrous surface that accentuates this creature’s elegant, luxurious shapes.

A relatively modest yet intriguing bronze sculpture, Vertical Form (p. 14), is a particularly exquisite work by Agustín Cárdenas. The verticality of the cast as it erupts from its marble base evokes a luxurious feeling. The perforations throughout the form and the whittling and widening of the sculpture’s extremities beckon fascination and investigation. Black patina glazes this refined piece adding richness and smoothness to its overall appearance.

Forma III (p. 15) is an abstract, contemporary, almost non-representational Carrara marble work carrying a similar appeal of subtle sophistication and an air of modernity, evident throughout Cardenas’ oeuvre. Although sculpted over 3o years earlier, Forma III resembles Le Cygne in medium, size, color, elegance, voluptuousness, and originality.

¹ “Exponen por primera vez en Nueva York la obra del cubano Cardenas.” terra.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-03.

12

Le Cygne, 1992

Carrara Marble on Black Marble Base 17 ¼ x 11 x 9 in. (43.8 x 27.9 x 22.9 cm) Base: 3 x 11 ¼ x 11 ¼ in. (7.6 x 28.6 x 28.6 cm) Total: 20 ¼ x 11 ¼ x 11 ¼ in. (51.4 x 28.6 x 28.6 cm) Signed and Dated on the Back: CA 92 Provenance: Private Collection Exhibition History: Selections from the Collection, 15 April - 29 May 2021. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Wifredo Lam + Agustin Cardenas, 9 September - 5 November 2021. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Literature: Bill Hodges Gallery. Wifredo Lam + Agustín Cárdenas. New York, 2021. p. 27

Cárdenas 13

Vertical Form, 1983

Cast Bronze with Brown Patina on Marble Base 15 ½ x 3 ½ x 3 ½ in. (39.4 x 8.9 x 8.9 cm) Base: 1 ⅝ x 3 ½ x 3 ¾ in. (4.1 x 8.9 x 9.5 cm) Total: 17 ⅛ x 3 ½ x 3 ¾ in. (43.5 x 8.9 x 9.5 cm) Signed and Numbered on Bottom Left: Agustin C 3/8 Stamped on Front: Foundry Oceane Provenance: Private Collection; Paris, France Exhibition History: Cardenas: Sculptures, 10 March - 10 April 1999. Galerie Trigano, Paris, France Wifredo Lam + Agustin Cardenas, 9 September - 5 November 2021. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Literature: Bill Hodges Gallery. Wifredo Lam + Agustin Cardenas. New York, 2021. p. 32 Please note: this work is mis-dated 1956 in Wifredo Lam + Agustín Cárdenas.

14 Cárdenas

Forma III, 1967

Carrara Marble 16 ½ x 11 ¼ x 11 in. (41.9 x 28.6 x 27.9 cm) Signed and Dated on the Back: ACA67

Provenance: Private Collection Private Collection (1989)

Cárdenas 15

Elle is one of Cárdenas’ earlier works. This life-size sculpture of dark oak is slim and cylindrical, as it stands tall like a column or totem that almost reaches the ceiling. A configuration of several slender brown abstract shapes covers its surface. These various dark, well-spaced elements emerge to the surface as the white carved area stands as background. In addition to color, Cárdenas applies texture to distinguish its light and dark components. He also creates negative space within the sculpture that frees up parts of the larger forms and alludes to the archaeological process of excavation.

16 Cárdenas

Elle, 1964

Painted Burnt Oak 110 ½ x 9 x 7 in. (280.7 x 22.9 x 17.8 cm) Base: 12 x 11 ⅝ x 11 ¾ in. (30.5 x 29.5 x 29.8 cm) Total: 122 ½ x 11 ⅝ x 11 ¾ in. (310.2 x 29.5 x 29.8 cm) Provenance: Galerie JGM; Paris, France Private Collection Exhibition History: Selections from the Collection, 15 April - 29 May 2021. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Wifredo Lam + Agustin Cardenas, 9 September - 5 November 2021. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Literature: Galerie JGM. Sculptures du Vingtième Siècle, De Rodin in the 60s. Paris, 1988. p. 20 Galerie JGM. Cárdenas, Thirty Years of Sculpture econd edition). Paris, 1989. Reproduced in black and white p. 9 Galerie JGM. Le Monde Légendaire de Càrdenas: Le château de Biron et Les Jardins du Manoir d’ Eyrignac. Paris, 2012. p. 107 Galerie Mitterand. Agustín Cárdenas, catalogue n°41. Paris, France. 2018. p. 34 Bill Hodges Gallery. Wifredo Lam + Agustín Cárdenas. New York, 2021. p. 25

Cárdenas 17

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827 - 1875) Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux was born in Valenciennes, France, as the son of a mason. One of Carpeaux’s best-known works today is Pourquoi Naître Esclave (Why Born Enslaved), first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1869.

At an early age, Carpeaux enrolled at the Académie de Peinture, Sculpture, et Architecture in Valenciennes, and after his family’s relocation to Paris in 1838, he continued his studies at the École Gratuite de Dessin (or Petite École), until 1843. These two schools were open to instructing talented youths like Carpeaux as part of a government policy to encourage the application of the fine arts to industry. In 1844, Carpeaux was accepted for study at the renowned École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. Afterward, he studied with Romantic sculptor, François Rude. In 1850, he abandoned Rude’s studio for that of Francisque Duret, a teacher at the school under whose tutelage Carpeaux achieved an honorable mention for his Achilles Wounded in the Heel (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes) in the Prix de Rome competition of the same year. This was followed by a second-place prize for his figure Philoctetes on Lemnos. In 1854, he earned the Grand Prix de Rome for his sculpture, Hector and His Son Astyanax (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes).

Towards the end of his career, he enjoyed the favor of Napoleon III, and could take his pick of portrait commissions from the leaders of the Second Empire. Carpeaux passed away in Courbevoie, France, on October 12, 1875. __ “A later shift in taste toward a more free naturalistic style is exemplified by the work of Second Empire sculptor JeanBaptiste Carpeaux.”¹ “Created following the American emancipation, and almost two decades after the abolition of slavery in the French Atlantic, Pourquoi Naître Esclave! (1868) was shaped by the enduring popularity of antislavery imagery, the development of nineteenth-century ethnographic theories of racial difference, and France’s colonialist fascination with Africa.”² Pourquoi Naître Esclave! (Why Born a Slave!) Challenges the traditional western standards of beauty in sculpture, and transcends the characteristics of the medium itself. This woman of color glares with piercing eyes into the distance in contemplation, defiance, and confrontation. Her facial expression is of strength as it exhibits a wide range of emotions. Although cast in hard and durable materials such as terracotta, and cast bronze, Carpeaux was able to capture the weightlessness of her hair, the smoothness of her skin, the softness of her clothes, and the beauty of her African features.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art featured a show around a bust of the same mold titled Fictions of Emancipation: Carpeaux Recast, 2022; the first exhibition at to examine Western sculpture in relation to the histories of transatlantic slavery, colonialism, and empire.²

¹ Cybele Gontar, “Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827–1875).” Metmuseum.org (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004). ² Overview “Fictions of Emancipation: Carpeaux Recast.” Metmuseum.org (Exhibition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022).

18

Pourquoi Naître Esclave!, 1868

Cast Bronze 13 ¾ x 8 ¾ x 7 in. (35.1 x 22.2 x 17.8 cm) Titled: POURQUI NAÎTRE ESCLAVE Signed and Dated on Right: JB Carpeaux 1868

Provenance: Private Collection; Glasgow, United Kingdom

Carpeaux 19

20 Carpeaux

Pourquoi Naître Esclave!, 1868

Terracotta on Marble Base 13 ⅝ x 8 ¾ x 7 ½ (34.6 x 22.2 x 19.1 cm) Base: ¾ x 4 ¾ x 4 ¾ in. (2.1 x 12.1 x 12.1 cm) Total: 14 ⅜ x 8 ¾ x 7 ½ in. (36.5 x 22.2 x 19.1 cm) Titled: POURQUI NAÎTRE ESCLAVE Signed and Dated on Right: JB Carpeaux 1868

Provenance: Private Collection; Valencia, Spain Thence by Descent to, Private Collection

Carpeaux 21

Elizabeth Catlett (1915 - 2012) Distinguished artist, Elizabeth Catlett, explored themes relating to race and feminism in her range of sculpture, paintings, and prints. Like her peer, Norman Lewis, Catlett highlighted the struggle of Black people through her art. Responding to segregation, and the fight for civil rights, her depictions of sharecroppers and activists were stylistically influenced by Primitivism and Cubism.

Catlett was born on April 15, 1915, in Washington D.C. From an early age, being the granddaughter of slaves, she was exposed to the struggles and racism faced by the African American community; which would carry great influence in her life and throughout her works.

Catlett graduated from Howard University in 1935, where some of her professors were celebrated African American figures like Lois Mailou Jones, and Alain Locke¹. Though she graduated Cum Laude from Howard University, Howard University was not her first choice. Catlett was initially offered a scholarship to attend the Carnegie Institute of Technology, but upon being informed that she was African American, the school would not allow her to matriculate².

After graduating from Howard, Catlett went on to receive an M.F.A in sculpture from the University of Iowa.

Dividing her time between New York and Cuernavaca, Mexico, Catlett constantly made art. She held over fifty solo exhibitions throughout the United States; in museums such as the Studio Museum of Harlem, New York; and the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, New York. The latter held a 50-year retrospective of her sculptures.

Her sculptures and prints are in the permanent collections of major institutions and museums, including: the New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

On April 4, 2012, Elizabeth Catlett passed away at the age of 96. Her legacy still lives through her children; specifically, her son David Mora Catlett, an artist who often worked in collaboration with his mother. __ The Family is a small, tranquil, yet expressive contemporary sculpture of a nuclear family. Catlett depicts an African American family whose members embrace one another as one united entity. Catlett chooses to place the female figure at its heart and center, with her embracing husband behind her, as she hugs her child facing her. The shared love between all the forms is reminiscent of the intimate, familiar bond many can relate to and find comfort in. The son not only hugs the mother back, but seems attached to her knees as well, emphasizing the strength of the bond between mother and child. As for the father, his arms extend to both.

¹ “National Museum of Woman in the Arts 2014.” Women in the Arts. 2014. ² Karen Rosenberg. “Elizabeth Catlett, Sculptor With Eye on Social Issues, Is Dead at 96.” New York Times, April 3, 2012.

22

The Family, 2002

Cast Bronze with Brown Patina on Wooden Base 15 ⅛ x 5 ¼ x 5 ½ in. (38.4 x 13.3 x 13 cm) Base: 2 x 6 ⅛ x 6 ⅛ in. (5.1 x 15.6 x 15.6 cm) Total: 17 ⅛ x 6 ⅛ x 6 ⅛ in. (43.5 x 15.6 15.6 cm) Initialed on the Back: E.C Provenance: Collection of Lewis and Louise Hirchfeld Cullman; New York, NY Private Collection Northside Child Development; New York, NY Private Collection; CA

Catlett 23

Willie Cole (1955 - ) Self-described as an “archaeological ethnographic Dadaist” with the intent to “reveal the life force in inanimate objects,” Willie Cole salvages and repurposes objects, to refashion and reposition our perspective of the ordinary and the mundane.

Willie Cole is a New Jersey-born artist working in the disciplines of painting, drawing, sculpture, and conceptual art. Trained as a graphic designer with a background that includes theatre, music, and television, Cole’s practice is an exploration of postmodern eclecticism and identity, with a focus on African and African American experiences in art.

Under the artistic influence of writer and poet Amiri Baraka, Cole attended the Boston University School of Fine Arts, and received his B.F.A from the School of Visual Arts, New York. Later, he continued his education by attending classes at the Art Students League of New York. During the early 1980s, he formed the non-profit Works Gallery in Newark. His practice reached a decisive phase in the late 1980s, after receiving the award of artist in residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem (1988-1989).

Cole’s unique works have been included in many solo and group exhibitions, and in museums across the United States. They have been collected by more than 30 museums throughout the country, including Studio Museum in Harlem, NY; Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY; Museum of Modern Art, NY; and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; among many others. __ A re-rendering of a Black lawn jockey statue whose title, Elegba (pp. 25-27), refers to a Yoruba deity and is a fascinating example of the artist’s thematic interest in capturing Africanist and African American canonical symbolism in contemporary art. Black lawn jockey statues were used during the Civil War to provide directional signals to runaway slaves as they journeyed toward the Canadian border. Due to its innocuous appearance that capitalizes on the servile archetype of Sambo figurines, the Black lawn jockey was a subversive tool for the Underground Railroad.

Cole uses cowrie shells to adorn the figure’s beaded vestments. Interestingly, cowrie shells symbolize wealth, fertility, and protection when traveling across stormy waters. In this work, Cole masterfully uses medium and symbolism to produce a sculpture that engages with the complex history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Mother and Child #1 (p. 28), Mother And Child #2 (pp. 28-29), and Downtown Goddess (p. 29) are African-inspired sculptures of women, constructed of shoes that function as brushstrokes. Cole upcycles old shoes by assembling them like a jigsaw puzzle to configure visually alluring forms. He then captures every detail and texture by casting them in bronze. This process transforms the transient delicate, pungent, and disposable lives of worn shoes to a renewed existence as visually appealing, solid, and durable sculptures of bronze that would live through centuries.

24

Elegba (North America), 2000

Papier-mâché, Beads, Cowrie Shells on Wooden Base 35 ½ x 13 ½ x 13 ¾ in. (90.2 x 34.3 x 34.9 cm) Signed and Dated on Bottom: 10/2K WILLIE COLE Provenance: Alexander and Bonin; New York, NY Private Collection (2007) Exhibition History: (Self) Portraits, 2 June - 27 July 2001. Alexander and Bonin, New York, NY Sources & Metamorphoses, 4 February - 4 April 2004. Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL Literature: Montclair Art Museum. Anxious Objects: Willie Cole’s Favorite Brands. Montclair, 2016. pp. 64-65

Cole 25

26 Cole

Cole 27

Mother and Child #1, 2014

Cast Bronze with Black Patina Edition 6 of 7 26 ½ x 11 x 15 ¼ in.

(67.3 x 27.9 x 38.7 cm) Signed, Dated and Numbered, Lower Back: W Cole 2014 6/7

Mother and Child #2, 2020

Cast Bronze with Red Patina Edition 3 of 7 23 ½ x 11 ½ x 14 ¾ in.

(60 x 29.2 x 37.5 cm) Signed, Dated and Numbered on the Back of Left Foot: W Cole 2020 3/7

Please note: This work is numbered 1/7 due to a error by the foundry. It has been numbered 3/7 by the artist.

Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist (2020)

Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist (2020)

28 Cole

Exhibition History: Selections from the Collection, 15 April - 29 May 2021.

Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY

Mother and Child #2, 2020

Cast Bronze with Black Patina Edition 5 of 7 23 ½ x 11 ½ x 14 ¾ in.

(60 x 29.2 x 37.5 cm) Signed, Dated and Numbered on the Back of Left Foot: W Cole 2020 5/7

Downtown Goddess, ca. 2013

Cast Bronze Edition 3 of 7 36 ½ x 8 x 10 ¾ in.

(92.7 x 20.3 x 27.3 cm) Initialed and Numbered on the Back of Lower Right Leg: W.C. 3/7

Provenance: Private Collection

Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist (2020)

Exhibition History: Selections from the Collection, 15 April - 29 May 2021.

Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY

Cole 29

30 Cole

Gas Snakes, 1992

Gas Pump Nozzles, Rubber Hose and Rebar in Four Parts (i): 45 ½ x 32 x 32 in. (115.6 x 81.3 x 81.3 cm) (ii): 64 x 26 ¾ x 31 in. (162.6 x 67.9 x 78.7 cm) (iii): 62 ½ x 30 x 25 ½ in. (158.1 x 76.2 x 64.8 cm) (iv): 63 x 35 ½ x 37 in. (160 x 90.2 x 94 cm)

Provenance: Alexander and Bonin; New York, NY Private Collection Exhibition History: The Summer Exhibition, 8 July - 27 August 2021. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY

Cole 31

Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier (1827 - 1905) “Beauty does not belong to a single, privileged race, I have promoted throughout the world of art the idea that beauty is everywhere. Every race has its own beauty, which differs from that of others. The most beautiful black person is not the one who looks most like us.”

- Charles Cordier Born in 1827, Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier was a French ethnographic sculptor,. He was recognized as one of France’s greatest practitioners of the 19th century, and acclaimed for the naturalism in his portraits of “ethnic” subjects. Cordier initially studied his craft under Louis Bougron Lille. He attended classes at the Petite École in Paris, followed by admission to the École des Beaux Arts in 1846. Cordier furthered his experience in the studio of François Rude.

Central to Cordier’s career was a meeting with Seïd Enkess, who worked in Paris as a model after his emancipation.

Cordier turned his attention to non-European subjects, particularly African, making his mark at the 1848 Paris Salon with a portrait of Enkess titled “Said Abdullah of the Mayac, Kingdom of Darfur (Sudan).” An edition of the same work was acquired by Queen Victoria at London’s Great Exhibition three years later. Cordier capitalized on this success through his appointment as the official sculptor of the National History Museum in Paris, a position he held between 1851 and 1866. At the museum, he worked on their new ethnographic collections and displays - producing an extensive body of busts, both of European subjects and subjects deemed “exotic.” These works currently reside in the Musee de l’Homme.

Cordier’s practice was out of step with many of his contemporaries, in an era when non-European subjects were eroticized and viewed under a Eurocentric gaze. He openly expressed his view that no ethnicity was privileged with beauty. In 1854, Cordier made the first of numerous trips to Africa. He received the title, Knight of the Empire in 1860, and passed away in Algeria in 1905. __ La Capresse des Colonies is an ornate bronze bust of a mixed-race woman with African features, from the French colonies. Typical of his work, it is an expression of the model’s natural, exotic, and timeless beauty, accentuated with clothing and accessories, created from an imperial perspective.

In this sculpture, the female with radiant dark brown skin is donning golden robes, draped on one shoulder, and accessorized with a thick bejeweled armlet. Her curly hair is groomed, brushed back, and styled with a matching golden crown in the form of a fascinating headpiece and flowers.

32

La Capresse des Colonies, ca. 1860s

Cast Bronze with Brown Patina and Silver Gilt 16 ½ x 10 ⅜ x 5 ¼ in. (41.9 x 26.4 x 13.3 cm) Signed and Partially Dated, Lower Right: CORDIER 186

Provenance: Private Collection; France

Cordier 33

34 Cordier

Cordier 35

Melvin Edwards (1937 - ) Melvin Edwards is a pioneer in the contemporary art scene. Edwards is best known for his welded sculptures and his belief in abstract art as a vehicle for social change.

The artist was born in Houston, Texas, and raised in both Houston and Dayton, Ohio; He then settled in Los Angeles, where he still lives and works today. Throughout his childhood, Edwards balanced his interest in art and sports, and played football during high school and college. Ultimately, his interest in art was prioritized, and Edwards graduated with a BFA from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in 1965.

While beginning as a painter, Edwards then turn his focus to sculpture once he received critical acclaim for his Lynch Fragment series (1963 – present). Combining found industrial objects such as barbed wire, chains, and machine parts, Edwards welded dense, abstract forms that allude to the lived experiences and brutality faced by Black community. During his decades-long career, Edwards has produced sculptures that address complex themes such as the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, and African culture.

In 1970, Edwards became one of the first African American sculptors to be featured in an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he displayed a series of delicate, barbed wire sculptures. Melvin Edwards’ work is included in the renowned public collections of the Modern Museum of Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.; and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; among many others. __ Yellow Way (pp. 37-39) is an excellent example of a contrasting diversion from his early series. The bright yellow and flat geometrical shapes introduce light, optimism, and a sense of carefree, childlike playfulness, to this work. This medium-sized welded sculpture of painted steel is a striking geometric assembly of circles, rectangles, and squares, fully coated in crisp, canary yellow paint, the same shade Edwards applies to many of his painted sculptures. The exuberant monochromatic primary color adds visual dynamism to this work and plays a vital role in abstracting the materiality of the underlying steel structure. The artist’s choice to thoroughly coat the surface imbues the work with a sense of cohesive and congruous spatial design, bringing attention to its form. The aesthetics and dynamics of sports thinking are evident in how he positions its elements relative to one another.

Culture (pp. 40-41) is a minimalist, geometric, stainless steel sculpture whose scale, material references, and gravitydefying composition inspires viewers to consider the present-day intersections of modern futurity in relation to histories of enslavement. This work combines two significant periods of Edward's career, as it features several main identifying features of his visual language: the flat geometric forms, chains, and stainless steel. Culture demonstrates his skill in balancing abstraction and symbolism to address political and social issues. Recurring motifs in Edwards' canon of work, such as chains and nails, viscerally evoke histories of racial violence and are often positioned in tension with or in harmony with other forms in the sculpture. In Culture, the three linked volumetric chains provide the structural spine of the work, supporting a series of three stacked, protruding geometric forms. Edwards augments the monochromatic components of the stainless-steel surface with scuffs, marks, and fine lines that add glimmer and texture to the piece.

36

Yellow Way, ca. 1970s

Painted Steel 16 x 38 x 33 in. (40.6 x 96.5 x 83.8 cm) Provenance: Private Collection Exhibition History: Recent Acquisitions, 11 September - 13 October 2007. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY African American Master Artists, 6 March - 26 April 2008. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY A Collaborative Effort, 1 May - 31 May 2008. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY What’s on the Wall II, 24 June - 5 July 2008. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY The Summer Exhibition, 8 July - 30 August 2008. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Selections From the Collection, 2 December - 10 January 2009. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Preview for the National Black Fine Art Show, 15 January - 10 February 2009. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Preview of US Art Fair, 13 September - 20 September 2011. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Selections from the Collection, 29 September - 5 November 2011. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Selections from the Collection, 15 April – 29 May 2021. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY Literature: Bill Hodges Gallery. Norman W. Lewis, et al. New York, 2017. p. 49

Edwards 37

Melvin Edwards re-painting Yellow Way. Image taken at 24 West 57th, Suite 607, New York, NY, former address of the Bill Hodges Gallery, in 2006.

38 Edwards

Edwards 39

40 Edwards

Culture, 1988

Welded Stainless Steel 61 x 37 x 18 in. (155 x 94 x 45.7 cm) Partially Titled and Dated, on Underside of Circular Surface: Cultur 88 Provenance: Collection of Joseph and Blanche Blank Exhibition History: Introspectives: Contemporary Art by Americans and Brazilians of African Descent, 1989.

The California Afro-American Museum, Los Angeles, CA, and Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY Literature: The California Afro-American Museum. Introspectives: Contemporary Art by Americans and Brazilians of African Descent.

Los Angeles, 1989. p. 70

Edwards 41

Richard Hunt (1935 - ) Richard Hunt is considered one of the most sought-after sculptors in the country; especially for public art commissions. Hunt is a true inspiration, as he has reinvented the art of using found objects, while disproving the stereotypical notion of what works created by an African American artist should be like.

Richard Hunt was born on September 12, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating with a Bachelor of Art degree in Art Education from the Art Institute of Chicago, Hunt received a fellowship grant from the Art Institute to travel around Europe and enhance his studies. The experience of touring England, Spain, France, and Italy solidified his interest in the media of welded and cast steel, aluminum, copper, and bronze. Now and then, Hunt experiments with metals found in junkyards, and with old car parts, which he deconstructs to shape abstract, organic, forms that reference surrealist representations of nature, animals, and humans.

From working out of his parents’ basement to now working out of a huge trolley train station turned professional studio; Hunt’s career and status has elevated far beyond his expectations, as he has grown into the most prolific sitespecific artist in the world.

In 1967, Hunt received a commission for his first public sculpture, Play, and in 1971, he was the first African American sculptor to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), in New York. Hunt established his studio center in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 2006, aiming for artists of all kinds and disciplines to work, attend workshops, learn, teach and create in the community. Today, Hunt has over 125 commissioned public sculptures in the United States; many of which are in his hometown of Chicago, IL. Hunt’s work can be seen at numerous museums, including: The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; and the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. __ Model for Flight Forms (p. 48) is a prime example of how Hunt combines his interest in ancient styles with European and American modernism and African metalwork in a wing-like form. This relatively small bronze sculpture is a model for Flight Forms, a public artwork measuring thirty-five feet in height, recreated in welded stainless steel and commissioned for Chicago’s Midway Airport, completed in 2001. Hybridism has long been used to describe Hunt’s melding of disparate elements with the theme of metamorphosis. This maquette unites various segments in an upward-sweeping composition that suggests the defiance of gravity, dynamism, and the wonder of flight.

Richard Hunt’s Winged Growth (pp. 50-51), an aesthetically pleasing bronze sculpture in the round, is a testament to Hunt’s triumphant vision, exceptional welding technique and exquisite taste. Title Unknown resembles an abstracted tree with branches of golden flames. Stately in size, the work’s pointed and twisting curvilinear form reaches skyward, allowing light to glimmer gently against its burnished golden exterior.

Richard Hunt’s Upward Outward and Around (pp. 52-53) is a resplendent work of contours and contradictions, with pointed, twisting, prong-like abstract forms bursting from a smooth, flat, solid base. Constructed with gleaming, finely polished stainless steel, it exudes a dynamic sense of cosmic power as the silver limbs of the sculpture extend upward, outward, and around, seemingly uninhibited by conventions of gravity.

42

Grow Wings

Cast Zinc Alloy 14 ½ x 6 ½ x 6 ⅝ in. (36.8 x 16.5 x 16.8 cm)

Provenance: Private Collection

Hunt 43

Untitled, 1986

Cast and Welded Bronze 21 ¼ x 7 x 10 ¼ in. (54 x 17.8 x 26 cm) Signed and Dated on the Back: R Hunt 86

Provenance: Private Collection

44 Hunt

Untitled, 1988

Cast and Welded Bronze 13 ⅜ x 10⅞ x 10 ¾ in. (34 x 27.6 x 27.3 cm) Signed and Numbered on the Back: R. Hunt A/P

Provenance: Private Collection

Hunt 45

Untitled, 1997 Cast and Welded Bronze 4 ⅝ x 3 x 2 ⅞ in. (11.7 x 7.6 x 2.9 cm) Signed and Dated on the Back: R Hunt 97

Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist (2019)

46 Hunt

Untitled, 2001

Cast and Welded Bronze on Stainless Steel Base 15 ½ x 4 ⅝ x 5 ¾ in. (39.4 x 11.7 x 14.6 cm) Base: 4 ½ x 7 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (11.4 x 18.4 x 18.4 cm) Total: 20 x 7 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (50.8 x 18.4 x 18.4 cm) Signed and Dated: 01 R Hunt

Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist (2018)

Hunt 47

Model for Flight Forms, 2003

Cast and Welded Bronze 17 ⅛ x 11 ¾ x 13 ⅞ in. (43.5 x 29.8 x 35.2 cm) Signed on the Back: R Hunt Numbered on Side: AP 05 Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist

48 Hunt

Untitled, 2017 Cast and Welded Bronze 9 x 7 ¼ x 6 ½ in. (22.9 x 18.4 x 16.5 cm) Signed and Dated on the Back: R Hunt 17

Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist (2018) Exhibition History: Selections from the Collection, 15 April - 29 May 2021. Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY

Hunt 49

50 Hunt

Winged Growth, 2021

Welded Bronze 85 x 36 x 35 in. (215.9 x 91.4 x 88.9 cm) Signed and Dated on Lower Right: R Hunt 21 Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist (2021)

Hunt 51

52 Hunt

Upward Outward and Around, 2019 Welded Stainless Steel 33 x 34 x 42 in.(83.8 x 86.4 x 106.7 cm) Signed: R Hunt

Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist (2019)

Hunt 53

54 Hunt

Inside and Outside the Frame, 2006-2020 Cast and Welded Bronze 77 x 36 ¼ x 30 ½ in. (195.6 x 92.1 x 77.5 cm) Provenance: Acquired Directly from the Artist (2022) Exhibition History: Richard Hunt: Scholar’s Rock or Stone of Hope or Love of Bronze,

17 September - 16 November 2020 & 11 February - 20 September 2021.

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Hunt 55

Gaston Lachaise (1882 - 1935) Gaston Lachaise is a French American sculptor notable for his approach to sculpting the female nude, and acclaimed as a leading figure in American modernism.

Lachaise was born on March 19, 1882, in Paris, into an artistic family. Following in his cabinet-maker father’s footsteps, he began his career in the decorative arts. Lachaise trained at the École des-Beaux-Arts, before working as a designer in the famed workshop of René Lalique. Early in his career, Lachaise met and fell in love with the muse of his life and art, Isabel Dutaud Nagle, an American woman of French-Canadian descent. When Nagle returned to America in 1904, Lachaise followed, and found work as a sculptor’s assistant in Boston and New York.

In 1918, in New York, Lachaise held his first solo exhibition. There, he debuted what would become his signature – a stylized and voluptuous rendering of the female form, in bronze. Lachaise exaggerated his women with massive proportions, sinuous and tapering limbs to create a new archetype of feminine power. This innovative exploration of the female body was born from Lachaise’s devotion to Nagle.

Although recognized for his female archetype, Lachaise was a versatile sculptor and particularly highly regarded as a portraitist. He sculpted numerous busts of artists and literary figures including Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Estlin Cummings, and John Marin. Similarly, his acclaim as a consummate technician brought him commissions from architectural projects such as the AT&T Building and Rockefeller Center in New York. Despite his premature death in 1935, Lachaise has been dubbed the greatest American sculptor of his time.

One of three bronze casts produced in early 1924, Gaston Lachaise’s Portrait Statuette of Miss Marjorie Spencer, is a beautiful and engaging small sculpture, a portrait of a young lady with features of both a mature woman and a child.

“Gaston Lachaise likely decided to create this charming Portrait of Marjorie Spencer (1904), the sister of the painter Niles Spencer (1893-1952), when he saw her in 1923 at a jolly Thanksgiving party in Woodstock, New York; he may have sought to please his stepson, who entertained a deep, ultimately unrequited infatuation with Miss Spencer."¹ It is an important work that not only stands at the intersection of two eras of fashion but also features several formal elements characteristic to his body of work.

The model’s head is tilted slightly to the right and her heart-shaped face is youthful. Despite high cheekbones and an angular face, her cheeks and petite features, give her the appearance of a child . She looks poised , young, and innocent. Her hair is thick, cut to the shoulder, with bangs. The bronze regains its characteristics as her locks, when compared to her face are free from texture and detail, which would have transformed the material. This hint of abstraction is characteristic of the style Lachaise is most known for.

As for many of his sculptures, her arms are thick, and her hand gestures are gracious. However, her torso and pose resemble that of a child standing still and tall. She is dressed in a tight plain cropped-sleeve top with a plunging neckline, similar to a flannel or undergarment. Although coinciding with the shift in fashion trends during the early 1900s to more informal clothing styles, This tightly worn shirt is reminiscent of the late 20th century and the top is worn over a long stiff bell-shaped pleated skirt, similar to that adorning his other model, Hildegarde Watson in his rendering of A portrait of Hildegarde Watson (1925), sculpted two years later. The style is indicative of the fashion trends worn from the Victorian era up to the late 18th century, yet unusual. The skirt is long, and the position of the pleats, primarily on both hips, exaggerate the girls’ form tremendously, creating an illusion of abnormally thick legs and broad wide hips underneath the skirt. These are the curves of a voluptuous mature woman constantly sculpted throughout his career. He completes the look with two pointy tip shoes positioned very close to one another, at the bottom center of the skirt.

¹ Virginia Budny. “Gaston Lachaise (American/French, 1882-1935) Portrait Statuette of Miss Marjorie Spencer.” Freeman’s Auction (Lachaise Foundation, November 2021).

56

Portrait Statuette of Miss Marjorie Spencer, 1923-24

Cast Bronze with Brown Patina 16 x 7 ⅛ x 3 ¾ in. (40.6 x 18.1 x 9.5 cm) Dated, and Numbered on Right: N° 1 ©1924 Stamped on the Back: ROMAN BRONZE WORKS N – Y – Lachaise 57

58 Lachaise

Provenance: C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries; New York, NY (1924) Parke-Bernet Galleries; New York, NY (1947) Walter C. Pew, Bryn Mawr; Pennsylvania (1947) Private Collection; Florida Exhibition History: Gaston Lachaise Portrait Sculpture, 22 November 1985 - 16 February 1986. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. Gaston Lachaise: A Modern Epic Vision, 10 August - 22 September 2012. Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Literature: Lula Merrick. “In the New York Galleries.” Spur, vol. 33, no. 9, May 1, 1924. p. 124 (plaster model illustrated) “News and Views on Current Art.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 11, 1924. Section B, p. 2 (plaster model illustrated) “About Artists and Their Work.” New York Evening Post. May 24, 1924. Section 5, p. 5 (plaster model illustrated) Albert E. Gallatin. Gaston Lachaise. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1924. p. 53 (an unidentified cast referenced) “The Spring Exhibition of Decorative Arts of the Society of Arts and Crafts.” Detroit News, April 4, 1926. Rotogravure Section, p. 3 (plaster model illustrated) Donald Bannard Goodall. “Gaston Lachaise, Sculptor.” PhD dissertation, Harvard University, 1969. Vol. 2, p. 465 (another cast referenced) Carolyn Kinder Carr and Margaret C.S. Christman. Gaston Lachaise: Portrait Sculpture. Washington, D.C.: National Portrait Gallery, 1985. pp. 72-73 (an unidentified cast illustrated) Gerald Peters Gallery. Gaston Lachaise: A Modern Epic Vision. Santa Fe, 2009. Plate 19 (another cast illustrated)

Lachaise 59

John Tarrell Scott (1940 - 2007) John Tarrell Scott is an American Artist best known for his large-scale woodcut prints and colorful kinetic sculptures that draw upon African American traditions and themes.

Scott was born on June 30, 1940, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana with a Bachelor of Art degree in Fine Arts; and later received his MFA in sculpture and printmaking from Michigan State University, in 1965. Since then, he has been an instructor at Xavier for 40 years, where he taught painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpting, paper-making, bronze casting, and calligraphy. In 1992, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship Grant, which he applied towards building a larger studio. After gaining attention among artists and collectors, Scott received honorary degrees from multiple universities, including Loyola University of Louisiana, Tulane University in New Orleans, Madonna College of Michigan, and Xavier University of Louisiana.

Scott was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at the New Orleans Museum of Art in 2005 titled Circle Dance: The Art of John T. Scott. Over the years, Scott was also commissioned to create and install several public works throughout the city of New Orleans, including Spirit Gates at the DeSaix Boulevard traffic circle in the Seventh Ward and River Spirit at Woldenberg Park along the Mississippi River.

Scott’s work is shown and collected by several institutions, notably: the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.; the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas; the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Louisiana; and the Fine Art Society, London. __ Duet: Past and Future, this delicate and colorful kinetic sculpture is a strong example of Scott’s painted kinetic metal works. Its seemingly simple, yet complex, slender forms are inspired by the “diddley bow”, a string instrument from West African culture,1 and balanced by physics. These kinetic sculptures served as the basis for his large-scale public commissions, including “Spirit Gates” at the New Orleans Museum of Art and “River Spirit” at Woldenberg Park in New Orleans.¹

¹ Blackartstory.org Editors. “Profile: John T. Scott (1940-2007).” Black Art Story, September 8, 2020.

60

Duet: Past and Future, 1985

Painted Metal and Wood 42 x 15 ½ x 13 in. (106.7 x 39.4 x 33 cm) Signed and Dated: John T. Scott 1985

Provenance: Private Collection; Jamaica Plain, MA

Scott 61

Endnotes Blackartstory.org Editors. “Profile: John T. Scott (1940-2007).” Black Art Story, September 8, 2020. https://blackartstory.org/2020/09/08/profile-john-t-scott-1940-2007/ Cybele Gontar. “Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827–1875).” Metmuseum.org (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004). http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/carp/hd_carp.htm “Exponen por primera vez en Nueva York la obra del cubano Cardenas.” terra.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-0203.

“National Museum of Woman in the Arts 2014.” Women in the Arts, 2014.

Overview “Fictions of Emancipation: Carpeaux Recast.” Metmuseum.org (Exhibition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022). https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2022/carpeaux-recast Rosenberg, Karen. “Elizabeth Catlett, Sculptor With Eye on Social Issues, Is Dead at 96.” New York Times, April 3, 2012.

Virginia Budny. “Gaston Lachaise (American/French, 1882-1935) Portrait Statuette of Miss Marjorie Spencer.”

Freeman’s Auction (Lachaise Foundation, November 2021). https://www.freemansauction.com/auction/ lot/12-gaston-lachaise-americanfrench-1882-1935/?lot=569441 “Why Born Enslaved! by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Episode 11 2019.

Credits Artist Biography Claire (Tianyi) Fan Patricia Daher Catalogue Design Claire (Tianyi) Fan Foreword Billy E. Hodges Editor Navindren A. Hodges Artwork Photography Adam Reich Navindren A. Hodges Zachary Bunin Angel Hurtado Gallery Assistants Claire (Tianyi) Fan Irene Ross Angel Hurtado Patricia Daher ISBN 1-891978-30-6 Edition of 1,000 Printed in China

62

Back Cover: Inside Back Cover: John Tarrell Scott Duet: Past and Future, 1985

Painted Metal and Wood 42 x 15 ½ x 13 in. (106.7 x 39.4 x 33 cm)

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Pourquoi Naître Esclave!, 1868

Terracotta on Marble Base 13 ⅝ x 8 ¾ x 7 ½ (34.6 x 22.2 x 19.1 cm) Base: ¾ x 4 ¾ x 4 ¾ in. (2.1 x 12.1 x 12.1 cm) Total: 14 ⅜ x 8 ¾ x 7 ½ in. (36.5 x 22.2 x 19.1 cm)

Bill Hodges Gallery

529 West 20th Street, #10E | New York, NY 10011 212-333-2640 • www.billhodgesgallery.com