Gaston Lachaise 1882-1935

The artist
Erhard Weyhe, New York (acquired directly from the artist in 1930)
By descent to the present owner

Washington, DC, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Gaston Lachaise:  Portrait Sculpture, 1985-6, catalogue pp. 19, 72-73, illustrated (as Margery Spencer, circa 1924 )

Lula Merrick, "In the New York Galleries", Spur, vol. 33, no. 9, May 1, 1924, p. 124 (plaster model illustrated, as A Young Girl)
"News and Views on Current Art:, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 11, 1924, section B, p. 2 (plaster model illustrated, as Statue of a Young Girl)
"About Artists and Their Work", New York Evening Post, May 24, 1924, section 5, p. 5 (plaster model illustrated, as Figure of a Young Girl) [Gaston Lachaise, in] A.E. Gallatin, Gaston Lachaise, New York, 1924, p. 53 (another cast, as Portrait statuette of Miss Marjorie Spencer, 1924)
"The Spring Exhibition of Decorative Arts of the Society of Arts and Crafts", Detroit News, April 4, 1926, Rotogravure Section, p. 3 (plaster model illustrated, as Portrait Study in Gilt Bronze)
Donald Bannard Goodall, Gaston Lachaise, Sculptor",  2 volumes (PhD  dissertation, Harvard University, 1969), volume 2, p. 465, (as Margery Spencer, 1924)

in good condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Lachaise scholar Virginia Budny writes of the sitter for the present work, "Marjorie Spencer, the sister of the painter Niles Spencer, was nineteen years old when Gaston Lachaise completed this portrait statuette of her in early 1924.  Sporting a bob haircut and wearing a fashionable dress with a close-fitting bodice and pannier skirt, she exudes youthful charm." 

Lachaise must have been impressed by the young woman's exuberance during a festive Thanksgiving dinner in 1923 held in Woodstock, New York, that was also attended by his wife, Isabel and John Dos Passos, among others, and hosted by Slater Brown, Hart Crane and Edward Nagle (Lachaise's stepson).

The following spring Lachaise ordered three bronze casts of the statuette from the Roman Bronze Works.  Budny continues, "Originally intended for the sitter, the present cast did not receive the finishing touches by Lachaise for several years, presumably because other projects held the artist's attention."  The two other casts were delivered to the dealer John Kraushaar soon after they were made.  No other casts of this work are known and the plaster model is lost.

We are grateful to Virginia Budny for her assistance in preparing the catalogue entry for this work.