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Lot Essay
Two years after Phillip King made Genghis Khan, Bryan Robertson, John Russell and Lord Snowdon published Private View, a large-format book in which they asked the question: 'Just what has turned London into one of the world's three capitals of art?' (Private View The Lively World of British Art, London, 1965, p. 3). Through discussion and photographs, they set out to answer this question. Alongside a photograph of Phillip King in his studio with Genghis Khan, Robertson singled out the work for particular praise: 'The great Genghis Khan ... rears up from the floor like a chieftain, the leader of the tribe, culminating in the severely cut-out shapes which extend outwards from the peak of the conical-shaped sculpture, like antlers - or like bat-wings. Conversely, the sculpture has a downward-flowing movement, sweeping down to the train-like shapes which spread along the floor on two sides. The title is perfect for the character and mood projected by this sculpture; its majestic inscrutability is brought to full expression by the oriental, slate-like, royal purplish-blue of the colour' (loc. cit., p. 242).
King first made a unique cast of Genghis Khan in 1963 in plastic and fibreglass, which was acquired by the Peter Stuyvesant Collection. However the fibreglass began to distort, and it was later destroyed. Circa 1970 King made a further edition of three from plastic and fibreglass with a supporting steel frame. These are in the Tate Gallery collection, the State University of New York collection and a private collection, UK.
In 1985 King made an artist's cast of Genghis Khan from the original mould (the present work), for his Japanese patron, The Maeda Company, from whom it was acquired by the present owner in 2005.
We are very grateful to Phillip King for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
King first made a unique cast of Genghis Khan in 1963 in plastic and fibreglass, which was acquired by the Peter Stuyvesant Collection. However the fibreglass began to distort, and it was later destroyed. Circa 1970 King made a further edition of three from plastic and fibreglass with a supporting steel frame. These are in the Tate Gallery collection, the State University of New York collection and a private collection, UK.
In 1985 King made an artist's cast of Genghis Khan from the original mould (the present work), for his Japanese patron, The Maeda Company, from whom it was acquired by the present owner in 2005.
We are very grateful to Phillip King for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.