Lot 142
  • 142

Auguste Rodin

Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 USD
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Description

  • Auguste Rodin
  • Age d'Airain, petit modèle
  • Inscribed A. Rodin dated 1955 and stamped with the foundry mark Georges Rudier Fondeur Paris and © by Musée Rodin (on the base); with the raised signature A Rodin on the underside
  • Bronze, greenish black patina
  • Height: 25 3/8 in.
  • 64.5 cm

Provenance

Musée Rodin, Paris
Herbert Mayer, New York (acquired from the above in 1955)
Wright S. Ludington, Santa Barbara, California

Literature

Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1929, no. 20 illustration of the plaster p. 31
Marcel Aubert, Rodin Sculptures, Paris, 1952, illustrations of a larger cast pp. 11-13
Cécile Goldscheider, Rodin, Paris, 1962, illustrations of another cast pp. 54-55
Albert E. Elsen, Rodin, New York, 1963, p. 20, illustration of a larger cast
Ionel Jianou & Cécile Goldscheider, Rodin, Paris, 1967 illustrations of a larger cast pls. 6 & 7
John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, illustrations of the larger cast pp. 343 & 345
Cécile Goldscheider, Auguste Rodin, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre sculpté, Lausanne, 1989, vol. I, no. 95d, catalogued p. 116
The Iris & Gerald B. Cantor Foundation, Rodin, A Magnificent Obsession, London, 2001, illustration of another cast p. 28

Condition

Excellent condition. Surface is clean. There is a 1/2-inch hairline scratch at back side of base.
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.

Catalogue Note

An early owner of this work was Wright S. Ludington, who lived in a spectacular mansion in Montecito called Val Verde.  Although commisioned by coffee broker and land speculator Henry Dater, Val Verde's first real owner and its longtime champion was the free-thinking Ludington, whose fortune allowed him to devote his time and energy  to his art collection and to the 1910 Modernist mansion which housed it.  Val Verde also had an impressive garden designed by famed garden designer Lockwood De Forest, Jr.  Of the 1,500 gardens created by De Forest, a celebrity in his own time, this is the only one still in its original form, according to Gail Jansen, author of a monograph on De Forest.