John Perceval

(1923-2000)

Ceramic angel 1958 25.0 x 10.0 x 10.0cm (9 13/16 x 3 15/16 x 3 15/16in).

Footnotes

PROVENANCE
Collection of the artist
Private collection, Melbourne
Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
The Reg Grundy AC OBE and Joy Chambers-Grundy Collection, acquired in 1988

John Perceval's Angels have always been popular with the public since their inception in 1957, with big shows in Melbourne and Sydney in 1958 and 1959. The first exhibition of 23 ceramic Angels was held at the Museum of Modern Art of Australia, Melbourne, from 2-12 September 1958, directed by Perceval's patron and friend, John Reed. Bernard Smith described this exhibition as 'one of the most important one-man shows held in Australia since the war.' 1 It was also a commercial success with the well-heeled members of MoMA buying many works. Enthused by their acceptance, Perceval held another exhibition of 33 Angels at the Terry Clune Galleries, Sydney in May 1959 which was opened by William Dobell, then Australia's most famous artist.

Writing about John Perceval's Angels in 1967, John Reed declared with some authority: 'They had their beginnings simply as children, probably first himself as a child, then his own children, as indeed the ceramics recognisably are.' 2

Margaret Plant, author of the first monograph on Perceval, also recognised the Angels as 'the artist's fair haired children who appeared in the wistful paintings of the early fifties – the children in the sea and in the field of flowers - are certain models for the Angels...' 3

Ceramic angel 1958 may be the least animated of the Angel series, as each figure is usually engaged in activity such as playing a musical instrument, bending over like a baby learning to walk, or gesticulating ecstatically with spreading fingers, licked after a meal.

Fired in a ravishing sang-de-boeuf shiny red and green glaze, this little ceramic portrait bust of an angel with tightly coiled ringlets and wide open eyes has a Donatello quality. To quote Margaret Plant once again -

Their inspiration is traditional: Perceval has said that Luca della Robbia and Donatello, the Quattrocento angel-makers, were important to him and Jean Forquet's Virgin and Child with its raw red angels surrounding the Madonna. 4

Acquired from John Perceval by a Melbourne couple who knew the artist well, this unique portrait head remained in their collection until 1988. With its quiet look of contemplation, Ceramic angel is more like a portrait rather than a traditional Perceval Angel, and as such is very much a stand-alone sculpture.

Warwick Reeder

1 Ibid., p.68, Bernard Smith, 'The Antipodeans', Australia Today, October 1959, p. 104
2 John Reed, 'John Perceval', Art and Australia, vol. 5, no. 1, June 1967, p. 361. The artist's daughters are Tessa (born 1947) and Celia known as 'Winkie' (born 1949), A third daughter, Alice was born in 1957
3 Margaret Plant, John Perceval, Lansdowne Australian Art Library, Melbourne, 1971, p. 68
4 Margaret Plant, op.cit., p. 67