Portrait of the artist

Details

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, R.A. (b. 1924)
Portrait of the artist
signed 'E. PAOLOZZI' (in front of the right foot), dated and numbered '1988 2/3' (behind the right foot), signed again and numbered 'EDUARDO PAOLOZZI 2/3' (behind the left foot), and signed again, dated and numbered '1988 2/3 E PAOLOZZI' (on the belt)
bronze with a black patina
59 in. (149.9 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired directly from the artist.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

In the mid-1980s Paolozzi used nature and geometric shapes in his treatment of the human figure. He transformed a series of naturalistic self-portraits into figures with abstracted torsos and legs made up of geometric shapes and planes, which turn them into semi-robots. The figures hold in front of them a strange array of objects including a sieve and a sphere drawn from the imagery of genetic engineering. The Artist as Hephaestus, 1987, stands outside an office building in High Holborn, London, and Self-portrait of the Artist with a Strange Machine, 1987, is in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland (see F. Pearson, Paolozzi, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1999, p. 64).

The present owner is a close personal friend of Sir Eduardo Paolozzi and lots 202-206 were all acquired directly from the artist.

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