The Imp (1914)

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska

veined alabaster

Tate, London, Liverpool and St Ives

Classification:

Sculpture

Materials:

Stone, Alabaster

Physical Object Description:

The work has been broken at the base and restored.

Technique:

Carved

Dimensions:

40.6 x 8.9 x 8.3 (Permanently attached to MDF (paintable) plinth base 1.5 x 21 x 25.5 cm) cm

Accession Number:

N04516

Credit:

Presented by the Contemporary Art Society, 1930

Scheme:

Gift

Ownership history:

Purchased from the intestate estate of the late Miss Sophie Brzeska (1872-1925) through the Treasury Solicitor by C. Frank Stoop (1863-1933); by whom gifted to the Contemporary Art Society, 1930; presented to the Tate Gallery, 1930

Relationship:

Sophie (Zofia) Suzanne Brzeska Tate, London, Liverpool and St Ives C. (Cornelius) Frank Stoop

The French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska spent most of his adult life in London before his untimely death, aged 23. He came from Paris in 1910 with the Polish writer, Sophie Suzanne Brzeska (1872-1925) and they adopted each other's last names although they never married. He was an important pioneer in the revival of carving in sculpture and like many of his fellow sculptors, spent time studying the pieces from around the world in the British Museum. The Imp (1914) incorporates forms from the different ancient cultures on display there. This naked alabaster figure, with reference to the phallic form, embues an energised sexuality common to non-European art.

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