01-25-201901-25-2019
Skinner Auctions
Skinner AuctionsBoston MA
3203BBoston
January 25, 2019 10:00 AMCalender
278

Harry Jackson (American, 1924-2011) Stampede

Sell one like this
$110,700$90,000
Auction: American & European Works of Art - 3203BLocation: BostonDate / Time: January 25, 2019 10:00AM

Description:

Harry Jackson (American, 1924-2011)

Stampede
Signed and dated "Harry Jackson 1959" and stamped with the artist's thumbprint along the front of the bronze base c.l., incised "Fond. Vignali-Tomassi" in the base l.r.
Bronze with a black/brown patina, 15 x 60 x 13 1/2 in. (38.1 x 152.4 x 34.3 cm).
Condition: Dust and dirt to interstices, minor wear to the patina.

Provenance: The collection of Joseph Thomas Alvarez III, California.

N.B. Stampede and Range Burial (Lot 279) were created as part of a pivotal commission Harry Jackson received from his friend Robert Coe in 1957. At the time, Coe was the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark and a trustee of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art in Cody, Wyoming, while Jackson was on a Fulbright to Italy. Coe's original commission was for two heroic-scale paintings. It was in preparation for those paintings that Harry Jackson first turned to sculpture, and when he signed the contract with Coe in 1958, it included four works, two paintings and two bronzes on the same subjects. As he conceived the paintings, Jackson wanted a way to get to know each of the figures more completely, to fully understand them from every angle, and to experience them through touch as well as sight. From his time in Europe, Jackson had become aware of the precedent of painters exploring subjects through sculpture when charged with the creation of monumental canvases and murals. From this drive to truly know his subject, Jackson's career as a sculptor was born.

Working with Aldo Vignali of the Vignali-Tommasi foundry in Pietrasanta, Jackson immersed himself in creating the two Coe bronzes and several independent works between 1958 and 1960, many of which were shown at Jackson's sold-out show of Western bronzes and drawings at Knoedler Gallery in New York in May of 1960. The independent sculptures included single figures of cowboys that helped the artist develop the presence and dignity of each individual within his larger compositions.

The two paintings, The Stampede and The Range Burial, were completed in 1965 and 1963 respectively. All four works commissioned by Robert Coe are part of the collection of the Whitney Western Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming.

Estimate $80,000-120,000

An area of oxidation and collected debris, perhaps sand, located in one of the depressions/pockets at u.c. of the sculpture, the area measuring 2 1/2 across and 1 1/2 inches deep, with an abrasion along the left edge of the area. Minor corrosion on the lower left edge of the base. Uneven patination along the rear edge of the base.

Sculpture retains is original patination. It is very dirty and would benefit from a professional cleaning.


The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.

Keywords

Joseph Thomas Alvarez III, Robert Coe, Aldo Vignali, Cody, Denmark, Italy