- 109
Cecil de Blaquiere Howard
Description
- Cecil de Blaquiere Howard
- Baigneuse (Bather), 1920
- signed: HOWARD
- ochre patinated Poracci marble
Exhibited
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. 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."
Catalogue Note
New York Evening Post, November 1, 1921,
'Une petite baigneuse de l'Américain Cecil Howard, taillée directement dans le marbre, est, dans sa simplicité et sa souplesse, une œuvre accomplie et charmante'
Edouard Sarradin, 'Le Salon d'automne', Journal des débats politiques et littéraires, no 303, 2 November 1921, p. 3
This elegant Baigneuse is representative of Howard's move towards a refined classicising ideal. The sculpture functions like a relief, with one principal viewing point. Interestingly, the composition is remarkably close to a maenad from a 1st-century Roman relief after a Greek 4th-century model with dancing maenads in the musée du Louvre (inv. no. MR 686; Ma 965). The composition is so close that it must be concluded that Howard look his inspiration from this accessible Roman antiquity.