15
●
RICHMOND BARTHÉ (1909 - 1989)
African Man (Shilluk or Maasai Warrior).
Cast bronze, with a dark brown patina, 1933.Approximately 165 mm; 6
1
/
2
inches high. Second edition
of 25, cast in 1986. Incised with the artist’s name and date, near the base, verso. Numbered 3 at the rear
of the neck truncation.
Provenance: the artist; Samella Lewis;WilliamWatson Hines, III, 1994; private collection.
This work is alternately titled
African Man
by MargaretVendryes,
MaasaiWarrior
by Samella Lewis, and
ShillukWarrior
by Romare Bearden and Harry Henderson.
This impressive head was originally one of 18 works by Richmond Barthé that was included in the
Harmon Foundation’s last exhibition at Delphic Studios in 1935 and was one of the few illustrated
in the exhibition booklet.Vendryes located the original painted 1933 plaster, and it is illustrated in
her new monograph. Bearden/Henderson p. 142;Vendryes p. 166.
[10,000/15,000]