Sir Eduardo Paolozzi 1924-2005

Commissioned by Cecil Elsom, circa 1970

Venice, XXX Biennale British Pavilion, Pasmore, Paolozzi, Clarke, Cliffe, Evans, 1960, no. Paolozzi A (another cast).

Diane Kirkpatrick, Eduardo Paolozzi, London, Studio Vista, 1970, pp.13-15, illustrated p.12 (another cast);
Elizabeth Cowling et al, Surrealism & After: The Gabrielle Keiler Collection, Edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 1997, no.76, p.105, illustrated (another cast);
Fiona Pearson, Paolozzi, Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland, 1999, pp.18-19, illustrated p.19 (another cast).

Having moved to London in 1945, Paolozzi joined the sculpture department at the Slade, and the maquette for the present piece, modelled in late 1946 or early 1947 in clay over a metal armature, is one of the artist’s earliest surviving sculptures. Deriving its inspiration in part from Picasso’s studies of bullfights and Hemingway’s writings on the same subject, Bull exudes a raw and primitive power.

A bronze version of Bull was first exhibited at the 1960 Venice Biennale, lent by Mrs Freda Paolozzi and in the catalogue dated 1946. However it is not known if other casts of Bull were in existence at this time. This unique gold patina version was commissioned from Paolozzi in about 1970 by the London architect Cecil Elsom to give to one of Elsom's clients. At the same time Elsom also paid for a second (and possibly a third) cast, with a black patina, one of which the sculptor presented to his wife, possibly to replace the cast she had owned in 1960.

We are extremely grateful to Robin Spencer, author of the forthcoming Eduardo Paolozzi catalogue raisonné, for his assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.