Henri Gaudier-Brzeska

Michael Sadler Collection
The Leicester Galleries, London, where acquired by Wilfrid A. Evill, by whom bequeathed to Honor Frost in 1963

London, The Leicester Galleries, A Memorial Exhibition of 100 works of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, May - June 1918, cat. no.21 (original plaster version);
Leeds, Temple Newsam House, Roy de Maistre and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, June - August 1943, cat. no.59 (another cast);
London, The Leicester Galleries, Selected Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture from the Collection of the Late Sir Michael Sadler, 7th January - 10th February 1944, cat. no.153;
London, The Home of Wilfrid A. Evill, Contemporary Art Society, Catalogue of Part of a Collection of Oil Paintings, Water Colours, Drawings and Sculpture Belonging to W. A. Evill, Esq., December 1947 - February 1948, cat. no.92 (as The Idiot);
London, Arts Council Gallery, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, an exhibition of sculpture, pastels and drawings, 7th December 1955 - 19th January 1956, cat. no.3 (as The Idiot) (another cast);
London, Tate Gallery, Wyndham-Lewis and Vorticism, 6th July - 19th August 1956, cat. no.171 (another cast);
London, The Home of Wilfrid A. Evill, Contemporary Art Society, Pictures, Drawings, Water Colours and Sculpture, April - May 1961, (part III- section 2) cat. no.37;
Brighton, Brighton Art Gallery, The Wilfrid Evill Memorial Exhibition, June - August 1965, cat. no.39;
Germany, Bielefeld Kunsthalle, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska 1891-1915, 1969, cat. no.2, illustrated (another cast);
Sydney, David Jones Art Gallery, Drawings and Sculpture by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska 1891-1915, 1981, cat. no.2 (another cast);
Cambridge, Kettle's Yard Gallery, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska: Sculptor 1891-1915, 13th October - 20th November 1983, cat. no.13, p.36, with Arts Council Tour to City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol and York City Art Gallery, York (original plaster version);
New York, Hirschl & Adler Galleries, British Modernist Art 1905-1930, 14th November 1987 - 9th January 1988, cat. no.65, p.73, illustrated (another cast).

Harold Stanley Ede, A Life of Gaudier-Brzeska, Will Heinmann Ltd, London, 1930, p.205;
Horace Brodzky, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Faber and Faber, London, 1933, p.179, illustrated p.67 (another cast);
John Cournos, Autobiography, New York, 1935, p.257, illustrated (another cast);
Mervyn Levy (intro.), Gaudier-Brzeska Drawings and Sculpture, Cory, Adams and Mackay, London, 1965, p.29, cat. no.75, illustrated (another cast);
Roger Cole, Burning to Speak, the Life and Art of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Phaidon Press, Oxford, 1978, cat. no.18, p.65, illustrated (another cast);
Roger Secretain, Un sculpteur 'maudit': Gaudier-Brzeska 1891-1915, Le Temps, 1979, p.107, illustrated;
Roger Cole, Gaudier Brzeska, Artist and Myth, Sanson and Company, Bristol, 1995, pp.59, 63-64;
Evelyn Silber, Gaudier Brzeska, Thames and Hudson, London, 1996, cat. no.30, p.257, illustrated pls.25, 26 (another cast);
Paul O'Keefe, Gaudier-Brzeska, An Absolute Case of Genius, The Penguin Press, London, 2004, pp.168 (as Head of a Jew), 296, illustrated p.169 (as Head of an Idiot/ Head of a Jew (self portrait)) (another cast).

The following condition report has been prepared by Plowden & Smith Limited, 190 St Ann's Hill, London, SW18 2RT: The bronze piece is in excellent condition, with no evidence of corrosion internally or externally. There are no signs of prior restoration or retouching and there appear to be no scratches. The surface of the piece is dirty overall. The wooden base, although stable, is in poor visual condition, with scuffs and scratches over large areas of the surface. The item was examined whilst separated from the base. The means of fixing the item to the base could be improved upon. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Four of these casts are traced by Silber to the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, the Leicestershire Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester, and the Art Gallery of Auckland, New Zealand.  The original plaster is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Evill's own notes give the provenance for this piece as ex-Michael Sadler Collection, and as Sadler died in 1943, this suggests an acquisition date shortly after this period.