PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED COLLECTION
Lot 7
LYNN CHADWICK(1914-2003)Sitting Elektra II
6 December 2022, 14:00 EST
New YorkUS$100,000 - US$150,000
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Preeya Franklin
Senior Specialist
Flannery Gallagher
Cataloguer
Emily Wilson
Specialist/Head of Sale
LYNN CHADWICK (1914-2003)
Sitting Elektra II
signed, dated and numbered 'Chadwick 68. 575 2/4' (on the underside)
bronze with black and polished patina
19 5/8 in (49.8 cm) (height)
Conceived in 1968. This bronze version cast in 1969 in an edition of 4 by the Morris Singer Foundry, London
signed, dated and numbered 'Chadwick 68. 575 2/4' (on the underside)
bronze with black and polished patina
19 5/8 in (49.8 cm) (height)
Conceived in 1968. This bronze version cast in 1969 in an edition of 4 by the Morris Singer Foundry, London
Footnotes
We are grateful to the Artist's Estate for their assistance in cataloguing this lot.
Provenance
Sam Dorsky Gallery, New York.
Private collection, New York (acquired from the above in 1970).
Thence by descent to the present owner.
Literature
D. Farr & É. Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2005, Aldershot, 2006, no. 575 (another cast illustrated p. 259).
"Chadwick's propensity for infusing cubic figures with ironic, anthropomorphic allusions remains one of his supreme artistic accomplishments, vying with and at times surpassing Picasso's explorations in these areas"
- Collette Chattopadhay quoted in Lynn Chadwick, exh. cat., Los Angeles, Tasende Gallery, 2002, p. 7.
Conceived in 1968, Sitting Elektra II is part of Chadwick's iconic Elektra series, which includes several variations of individual forms rendered in sitting or reclining postures, many of the works cast at a small scale. The present sculpture is larger than most of the iterations in the series, easily commanding attention, an ideal size to display the artistry of the piece. Drawing interest through its tactile and contrasting surfaces, the glittering polished elements shine against the dark textured surface of the form. This duality is now one of the most recognizable aspects of a Chadwick sculpture, an effect he perfected in the 1960s. The Elektra series was the first time that he incorporated polished elements in his bronze sculptures.
Though Chadwick had studied architecture before deciding to become a sculptor, he was the youngest artist to win the International Sculpture Prize at the Venice Biennale. His eye for structure combined with humanistic poses creates a captivating dichotomy within each figure. Created in an edition of four, this cast of Sitting Elektra II has been held in a distinguished private collection virtually since its creation.