RICHMOND BARTHÉ (1901 - 1989)
Untitled (Head of a Young Man).

Cast bronze with a dark brown patina, mounted on a marble base, circa 1930. Approximately 95x63x44 mm; 3 3/4x2 1/2x1 3/4 inches (not including base).

Provenance: private collection, Washington, DC.

This small head is an early and very scarce example in bronze of these sensitive and intimate portraits made by Richmond Barthé. A plaster version of this head was sold at Swann Galleries on June 4, 2020.

Despite their size, Barthé's small heads have a naturalism and immediacy that demonstrate his skill in portraiture. Barthé's career was launched in Chicago with the critical and popular acclaim for his 1927 bust The Jubilee Singer which stood only 4 1/2 inches high. It was featured on the cover of Opportunity magazine in 1928.