Aaron Anderson
Specialist, Head of Sale
Lot 100
John Rattenbury Skeaping R.A.(British, 1901-1980)Mares and foals Height: 12 1/4in (31.1cm); Width: 24 1/4in (61.6cm)
20 November 2019, 13:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$13,825 inc. premium
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John Rattenbury Skeaping R.A. (British, 1901-1980)
Mares and foals
signed, dated and numbered 'JOHN SKEAPING 78 / 5/10' and stamped with foundry mark 'L / AM' (on the base)
bronze with brown patina
Height: 12 1/4in (31.1cm); Width: 24 1/4in (61.6cm)
signed, dated and numbered 'JOHN SKEAPING 78 / 5/10' and stamped with foundry mark 'L / AM' (on the base)
bronze with brown patina
Height: 12 1/4in (31.1cm); Width: 24 1/4in (61.6cm)
Footnotes
Provenance
Private collection, Massachusetts (acquired in London, late 1970s).
The son of artist parents, Skeaping was a precocious student, drawing assiduously from the age of seven. He completed his studies at the Royal Academy Schools with the gold medal and a travel scholarship to Italy. In 1925 he married the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, a marriage that produced one son and lasted until 1931. During the 1950s, Skeaping became a member of the Royal Academy and a professor at the Royal College of Art.
No animal was more central to Skeaping's output than the horse. Perhaps his most celebrated work is the to-scale mahogany and pyinkado wood carving Horse (1933-34, Tate Gallery, London) which met with a rash of publicity upon its unveiling (dubbed by one paper as 'The Beast of Bond Street'). His later race horse commissions display sheer mastery of the equine form. A keen rider, Skeaping was familiar with the various horse breeds and used to break horses and round up cattle in the Camargue, where he settled after 1959.