
Penny Day
Head of UK and Ireland
Sold for £45,650 inc. premium
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PROVENANCE:
The Artist
"I normally create a maquette before attempting life-size, but I was impetuous. Besides, I had already created several sketches in clay at the King Edward VI School in Southampton where I was artist-in-residence, plus a half-life size in the States.
Allies sat on Bond Street for several years when Gill Catto of the Catto Gallery in Hampstead asked me for a maquette, thinking to sell them. It didn't exist, I told her. She asked if I would consider creating one, marketing an edition of 50. I thought she would be lucky to sell 2 or 3, then Gill's husband offered to buy #1. Immediately, I started on it with their caveat that it be exactly 1/4 life-size of the one on Bond Street, no variations, no improvements. I agreed. Barlow Tyrie, which had supplied the big bench, created an exact 1/4 size bench. I modelled two unclothed clay figures and paused, stumped: how was I to create an exact 1/4 life-size without having my life-size in front of me?
Simple: Julia and I drove to Bond Street from our Isle of Wight home, plus table, chair, tools, clay and the little bench. We set it all before the life-size sculpture and I got to work. "Are you an art-student? (Do I look like a student?). Have you the artist's permission? (The artist is dead). How about the City of Westminster? (I'll be gone before they catch me). After 4-5 days of work and chatter, I was finished, and to date almost 40 have been sold. So much for my 2 or 3!"
(In conversation with the artist, April 2013)