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RICHMOND BARTHÉ (1901 - 1989)
Black Boy (Head of Boy)
.
Painted plaster or dental material, with a bronze-like patina, on a walnut base, circa 1929-31. 152
mm; 6 inches high (241 mm; 9
1
/
2
inches high, including base). Incised artist’s signature on the verso
of the head.
Provenance: private collection, NewYork.
Black Boy
is a very good example of an early work by Richmond Barthé. At the time, the artist
struggled to find commissions, but showed regularly at the Harmon Foundation exhibitions of 1929,
1931 and 1933. In works like this and
Mask of a Boy
, circa 1931, Barthé demonstrates a great
sensitivity and expressiveness on a small scale. Another
Head of Boy
was listed in the Harmon 1935
exhibition at Delphic Studios, which included 19 sculptures by the artist, in addition to the
memorial exhibition for Malvin Gray Johnson. There is also another very similar mask-like head
that Barthé later cast in bronze, titled
Julius
, 1942-43, in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy
of the Fine Arts. Reynolds/Wright pl. 11, p. 158;Vendryes p. 53.
[6,000/9,000]