Morgan Martin
Head of Department
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA
Lot 90
Reuben Nakian(1897-1986)Head of Marcel Duchamp 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high
18 November 2021, 14:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$26,562.50 inc. premium
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Aaron Anderson
Specialist, Head of Sale
Reuben Nakian (1897-1986)
Head of Marcel Duchamp
inscribed and numbered 'NAKIAN 0/7 / 1943' (on the base) and inscribed 'ROMAN BRONZE WORKS INC.' (on the base)
bronze with brown patina
22 in. (55.9 cm.) high
Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.
inscribed and numbered 'NAKIAN 0/7 / 1943' (on the base) and inscribed 'ROMAN BRONZE WORKS INC.' (on the base)
bronze with brown patina
22 in. (55.9 cm.) high
Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.
Footnotes
Provenance
Egan Gallery, New York, commissioned from the artist, 1963.
Acquired by the present owner circa 1985.
Literature
"Two Great American Artists," Vogue, October 15, 1961, v. 138, p. 91, another example illustrated.
B. O'Doherty, "Art: Mythmaking in the 20th Century; Nakian's Sculpture is Shown at the Egan; 'Voyage to Crete' and 'Olympia' on Display," The New York Times, March 20, 1962, vol. CXI, no. 38,041, p. 34, another example listed.
The Contemporary Art Council, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Reuben Nakian Sculpture & Drawings, exhibition catalogue, Los Angeles, 1962, n.p., no. 1, another example listed.
"Nakian's Works in Major Show at N.Y. Museum of Modern Art," Bridgeport Sunday Post, June 19, 1966, vol. LXXVII, no. 25, p. B-20, another example illustrated.
Committee on Public Works, Hirshhorn Museum: (89-35) Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds of the Committee on Public Works House of Representatives Eighty-Ninth Congress Second Session on H.R. 15121, and related bills, Washington, D.C., 1966, p. 98, another example listed.
F. O'Hara, Nakian, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1966, pp. 11-13, 43, 45, 53, no. 1, another example illustrated.
F. O'Hara, Art Chronicles: 1954-1966, New York, 1975, p. 86, another example listed. (as Head of Duchamp)
"Reuben Nakian's Busy Year of Being 80," Bridgeport Sunday Post, October 16, 1977, vol. LXXXVIII, no. 42, p. E-7, another example listed.
R.P. Metzger, Reuben Nakian: Centennial Retrospective 1897-1986, exhibition catalogue, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1998, pp. 11-12, 37, 98, 104-105, another example illustrated. (as Marcel Duchamp)
We are grateful to Atelier Nakian, LLC for their kind assistance in cataloging this lot.
There are 8 known versions and 2 artist proofs of Head of Marcel Duchamp that were produced by Roman Bronze Works. Other examples of Head of Marcel Duchamp are found in the collections of the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware, Hirshhorn Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
