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American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists
|
- Sale 2780
Live
| Philadelphia
Dec 3 | 2:00 PM EST
Live
| Philadelphia
Sale 2780
| Philadelphia
| Philadelphia
Estimate$25,000 – $40,000
Carl Milles was one of the leading sculptors in Sweden during the last quarter of the 19th and first half of the 20th century. It was Cranbrook Academy founder George Booth who is credited with bringing Milles, along with his wife Olga, to Cranbrook in 1931, later purchasing a number of the sculptor’s works three years later (Cranbrook has nearly eighty Milles sculptures in its collection). Milles was Cranbrook’s first sculptor in residence, and he and Olga lived there until 1951.
He frequently found inspiration in Greek and Roman mythology, including Europa and the Bull, Orpheus, and Venus. Naiads, the water nymph daughters of Zeus and Tritons, the sons of Amphitrite and Poseidon, were also favored subjects for Milles, and like many European as well as American sculptors active in the early 20th century, he chose to cast some of these mythological subjects in the form of fountains, as in the present work. Related Triton variants are located in The Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne, at Prins Eugens Waldemarssudde, Stockholm, and in the collection of the Mayo Clinic.
Another version of Small Triton Fountain, also executed in 1916, is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
French and Company, New York, New York.
Collection of Edith Brevoort Kane (Mrs. George F. Baker), New York, New York.
A gift from the above in 1954.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia (accession number 1954.9a-b).
In overall structurally stable and good condition. The sculpture has been exposed outdoors, unprotected. Yet it presents well with a dense green layer of oxidation. Because of the surface finish of the sculpture and how it has weathered, most of the surfaces have weathered relatively evenly with the exception of a few dark streaked areas (black oxidized surface on the triton's elbows and torso aka recessed/overhangs areas). Some rust staining along the rim of the cup the triton is holding. Highlights of gold in the triton's shelled curls. There appear to be no cracks or visible core pins. With accumulated dust in the nooks and crevices of the work. If it is to be displayed outdoors again, the surface should be coated and indirect weather exposure is recommended.
The base presents well, with uneven weathered patina, especially around the edges (where the curves start plunging). Scattered accretions along the base, with soft sporadic scratches. Old water level visible inside the base. With a long diagonal repaired crack stretching from the middle of the base, to one of the upper collars for about 40 in. Another, smaller, stretches vertically in one of the rims. It is structurally sound, albeit more textured that the aforementioned crack. Dent (with accompanying loss) in the upper curve of one of the rims.
See Specialist's pictures.
For more information, please contact Raphael Chatroux at [email protected]
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To request further details about this lot, please email [email protected]
Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have
