Ivan Mestrovic

Purchased by Lady Cowdray from Ivan Mestrovic in 1930 or 1931;
Bequeathed to her granddaughter, Joan Acton (née Pearson) and thence by descent

L. Čerina, Ivan Meštrović, CD Rom, Fundacija Ivana Meštrovića, Zagreb, 2001; D. Kečkemet, Ivan Meštrović 1883-1962, Centennial Exhibition, ex. cat. Zagreb, 1984

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good. There is some minor wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There are some small areas of greening to the patina including at the proper right upper arm. There are a few slight losses around the truncation.
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Lauded by Rodin as 'the greatest phenomenon amongst the sculptors', Ivan Meštrović began his career exhibiting with the Vienna Secession at the turn of the 19^th to 20^th centuries. His fame led to important exhibitions across Europe, and in 1915 he made history as the first living artist to have a solo exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Meštrović's first visit to the United States was made in 1924 when he exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in a show which went on to tour several major American cities. The sculptor stayed in America for the best part of a year. He was based in New York with a studio at 42 Washington Mews, which he had borrowed from Paul Manship. His Mother Teaching Her Child to Pray was modelled there in 1925. The original plaster was bequeathed by Meštrović with a group of works to the town of Drniš in Dalmatia.

The present bronze is the only documented lifetime cast of the model. Two other posthumous casts are recorded, both were cast in 1968 and are in Zagreb: in the Meštrović Atelier and the Chromos Chemical Works. According to the archives of the Meštrović Museums the present bronze was bought directly from the artist by Lady Cowdray in 1930 or 1931. It would have been cast in Zagreb, where the sculptor was based at that period, and shipped to London.

Annie, Viscountess Cowdray was 'a keen connoisseur of art' and a well-known society hostess. Her portrait was painted by John Singer Sargent, who was instrumental in bringing Meštrović to the States in 1924. She was exceptionally well travelled and may have met Meštrović in London, on the Continent or possibly during his sojourn in New York. Her philanthropic interests gave her a connection to Meštrović's beloved Yugoslavia - as chairman of the nursing charity, Dr Elsie Inglis Memorial Fund, in Serbia, she was awarded the Order of St Sava of the First Class, a rare honour for a woman. Meštrović had completed a commemorative portrait of Dr Elsie Inglis in 1918, a year after her death.

Lady Cowdray died in 1932, and the bust, together with many other beloved treasures, was inherited by Joan Acton. Joan Acton was Lady Cowdray's granddaughter, who had lived with her as her own daughter since Joan's father's untimely death on the first day of the First World War. An exceptionally elegant and well-connected woman, Joan Acton appeared frequently in the society columns of the 1930s and 40s. In 1939 an article in Vogue was published citing lists of her 'likes' and 'hates.' Her 'likes' included: 'Queen Anne Houses, Sightseeing in Italy, Black pearls and rubies and Sculpture, particularly Mestrovic.' Joan made sure to take the bronze with her in the 1960s when the family moved to Corfu, where it has since been documented.

Mother Teaching her Child to Pray is emblematic of a central theme in Meštrović's art, as his daughter, Maritza explained: 'many of his masterpieces show that he esteemed motherhood as the sublime mission.' The tenderness with which the mother encourages the faith of her child is particularly touching. The delicate, dappled surface of the sculpture with its careful patination, makes this a superb example of Meštrović's work in bronze. The sculptor was well-known to be meticulous about castings of his work and would have overseen the finishing. The woman's features recall those of the sculptor's second wife, Olga, with whom he had four children.

RELATED LITERATURE
Atelije Meštrović,no. 55; Lauck, pp. 5-16