Doe and Hope

Description

The superbly well cast and wonderfully rendered painted stone bust, showing much of the original elephant grey paint, in the form of an androgynous male with elongated neck, beautifully worked eyebrows, cows licked hair, prominent eyebrows and delicate adams apple survives from the first half of the twentieth century.

The condition of the sculpture is superb, and remains in as found condition. The original grey painted surface is part worn away down to the chalky surface giving a desirable look. He was found in a garden in Somerset, with other sculptures by the same hand, and the owner seemed to believe the sculpture once stood on a wooden base.

What is certain is that the artist was highly skilled, with a very well attuned artistic vision, and we imagine that if the piece was signed then it was to the absent base, as it is apparently unsigned.

A wonderfully rendered and imagined piece of informal, relaxed, sculpture with a hugely desirable aesthetic and one that probably merits further research.