John Rattenbury Skeaping RA

(British, 1901-1980)

Savage Mongolian Horse 27.3 cm. (10 3/4 in.) long

Footnotes

Provenance
Probably Collection of Mrs Rachel Cohen Gorer (1873–1954), thence by descent to
Mr Peter Alfred Gorer (1907-1961) and Mrs Elizabeth K. Gorer (1913-2016), by 1978
Private Collection, U.S.A.

Exhibited
Buenos Aires (details untraced)
Venice, La Biennale Venezia, 1928, cat.no.154

Literature
Jonathan Blackwood, The Sculpture of John Skeaping, Lund Humphries in association with the Henry Moore Foundation, London and Much Hadham, 2011, p.71, cat.no.37

No animal was more central to Skeaping's output than the horse. Perhaps his most celebrated work is the to-scale mahogany and pynkado wood carving Horse (1933-34, Tate Gallery, London) which met with a rash of publicity upon it's unveiling (dubbed by one paper as 'The Beast of Bond Street') and his later race horse commissions display sheer mastery of the equine form.

A keen rider, Skeaping was familiar with the various horse breeds. The present example is a Mongolian horse, one of the oldest breeds and largely unchanged since the time of Genghis Khan. Noted for its sturdy proportions, full mane, long tail and a tough and willing temperament – all features which Skeaping has faithfully adhered to in his representation.

The present example is both one of his earliest equine sculptures, and one of the first works which he had cast in bronze. It is believed to be a unique cast.

Rachel Cohen Gorer was widowed at an early age. Her husband, Edgar Gorer, a leading scholar and dealer in Chinese art, perished with the sinking of RMS Lusitania in 1915. Following the tragedy, Rachel developed a long and fast friendship with Dame Edith Sitwell and became well acquainted with the leading artists exhibiting in England during the interwar years. Her passion for collecting extended to her three children Peter, Geoffrey and Richard. The family amassed a broad and significant collection including works by Pavel Tchelitchew, Frances Hodgkins, Paul Cézanne, Francis Bacon and Barbara Hepworth (specifically Figure of a Woman (1929-30) now in the collection of the Tate Gallery). Also in the collection were seven works by John Skeaping, all owned by Elizabeth Gorer (by the late 1970s) and until now, all considered lost.

We are grateful to Nicholas Skeaping for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.