Small head

Details

Reg Butler (1913-1981)
Small head
bronze with a brown patina, unique
5 1/8 in. (13 cm.) high, excluding the base
Conceived circa 1953.

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 6 April 1960, lot 64, where purchased by the present owner.

Exhibited

London, Gimpel Fils, Collector’s Choice XIV, June 1967, no. 8.
London, New Arts Centre, Sculpture 1950-65, May - July 1986, no. 10.
London, Gimpel Fils, Reg Butler, September - October 1986, no. 43A.

Special notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Lot Essay

Small head showcases Butler’s propensity for the human form. Exploring the dichotomy between sensuality and brutality, figures are often seen suspended on wire so that they hang in space, dissociated with the ground. Butler relished in the fragmentary, preferring to omit significant parts of the body to create a more expressive image of the figure, as seen in the present work, where only the head and neck remain. Executed circa 1953, the work marks a pivotal moment in the artist’s career, at a time when Butler won the international competition to create a monument dedicated to the Unknown Political Prisoner, thereby firmly establishing his reputation as one of Britain's leading sculptors.

More from Modern British & Irish Art

View All