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SCULPTURE FROM THE COLLECTION OF MICHAEL HALL
Michael Hall is a true original. And the French meaning really does fit him better: un original. This word far better conveys all the brilliance, humor, intensity of focus and, of course, eccentricity that are so often the hallmarks of great collectors.
From the outside, Mr Hall's New York townhouse and his Miami house couldn't be more different. The New York house, with its formal, even severe, facade blends in perfectly with its proper Upper East Side neighbors and gives no hint of the treasures within. In Miami everything is reversed. The house, low and full of glass, is open to the sun, sea (and resident seagulls) and even the wildly lush garden which takes every chance it can to creep inside. And yet the interiors of these two homes are remarkably similar. That Mr Hall is interested in almost everything is immediately obvious. Greek and Roman marbles, Imperial Chinese carpets, Renaissance ceramics, dazzling mineral samples and shells from all over the world, personal photographs of Hollywood icons -- all close friends -- intermingled with Russian watercolors and Sargent portraits.
And while these Kunst and Wunderkammers reveal his wide-ranging interests -- and incredible depth of knowledge with these many collecting fields -- it is the sculpture that seems to be the one constant. Mr Hall has been collecting since his purchase of a Kachina doll from a Pueblo Indian in New Mexico at the age of four and a half! This figure -- still in his collection -- now certainly qualifies as an 'antique' (his own admission).
The sculpture in this sale -- while only the tip of the iceberg of Mr. Hall's collection -- is very revealing. The emphasis is on the handsome modeling, dazzling contortions and glistening surfaces of the late Renaissance and Baroque bronzes -- specifically, those superbly original compositions created by the sculptor to the Medici Grand Ducal Court in Florence, Giambologna, and his followers. The iconic models of Mercury, Fortuna, Hercules and the Rape of the Sabines form the foundation of this group. These bronzes are incredibly seductive and are some of the most storied models in the history of sculpture. Christie's is very proud to be offering this enticing selection from one of the most fabled collections of sculpture in America.
A GILT-BRONZE BUST OF A ROMAN SOLDIER
ITALIAN, 17TH OR 18TH CENTURY
Details
A GILT-BRONZE BUST OF A ROMAN SOLDIER
ITALIAN, 17TH OR 18TH CENTURY
On a later circular patinated bronze base, with paper label to reverse inscribed BU/97 in black pen
5 1/8 in. (13 cm.) high, 6½ in. (16.5 cm.) high with base
ITALIAN, 17TH OR 18TH CENTURY
On a later circular patinated bronze base, with paper label to reverse inscribed BU/97 in black pen
5 1/8 in. (13 cm.) high, 6½ in. (16.5 cm.) high with base
Provenance
Art Market, London, 1965.
Exhibited
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1975-1982.
Duke University Art Museum, Durham, North Carolina, 1985-1995.
C. Avery and M. Hall, Giambologna: An Exhibition of Sculpture by the Master and his Followers from the Collection of Michael Hall, Esq., Salander O'Reilly Galleries, New York, 1998, no. 57.
Giambologna and his Followers: Sculpture from the Collections of Michael Hall, Miami-Dade College Museum of Art, Freedom Tower, 9 October 2009-20 February 2010.
Duke University Art Museum, Durham, North Carolina, 1985-1995.
C. Avery and M. Hall, Giambologna: An Exhibition of Sculpture by the Master and his Followers from the Collection of Michael Hall, Esq., Salander O'Reilly Galleries, New York, 1998, no. 57.
Giambologna and his Followers: Sculpture from the Collections of Michael Hall, Miami-Dade College Museum of Art, Freedom Tower, 9 October 2009-20 February 2010.
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