Anton van Wouw (South African, 1862-1945) The Art Student (Gordon Leith) 36 x 29 x 19cm (14 3/16...

Anton van Wouw (South African, 1862-1945) The Art Student (Gordon Leith) signed, inscribed and dated 'A. van Wouw / Pretoria 1902' and inscribed 'Fonderia. G. Nisini. Roma' (to base) bronze 36 x 29 x 19cm (14 3/16 x 11 7/16 x 7 1/2in). (including base). Footnotes: Provenance A private collection. Exhibited South Africa, Rembrandt van Rijn Foundation touring exhibition, Pierneef Van Wouw; paintings and sculptures by two South African Masters, 1980-81, no. 42, p. 17, (illustrated) (similar cast). Literature A. E. Duffey, Anton Van Wouw, The Smaller Works, (Pretoria: Protea Book House, 2008), p. 33-35. (illustrated), (similar cast). Pierneef, Van Wouw, Paintings and sculptures by two South African Masters, (Rembrandt van Rijn Art Foundation, 1980), no. 42, (similar cast). Dr. Morris J. Cohen, Anton Van Wouw, Sculptor of South African Life, (Johannesburg: Radford, Adlington, LTD, 1938), p. 27. (similar cast). Very few castings of this work exist with one version currently held in the South African Academy for Science and Art in Pretoria. Whilst rare in number, the present work is also an early bronze work for Anton van Wouw with only two bronze works created prior to the year 1901. The Art Student displays a young boy seated on a wooden box, drawing. Leith was born in Knysna and his family moved to Pretoria in 1889. The figure is Gordon Leith, who was taking art lessons from Van Wouw from the ages of fourteen to sixteen. Through this, he made the acquaintance of many artists including J.H. Pierneef, Fanie Eloff and Frans Oerder. Leith would one day become a highly acclaimed South African Architect and join Herbert Baker's office to assist in designing the Parliamentary Buildings of Pretoria. He would go on to design notable buildings such as Johannesburg Park Station from 1927-1932, the South African Reserve Bank in Johannesburg, and Bloemfontein City Hall. Though early, the present work is no exception to Van Wouw's acute attention to detail: 'On his lap he has a rectangular drawing board on which a large eraser can be seen on the right at the top and the drawing paper is placed at an angle. In front the drawing board rests on a single thin leg, which is placed on the base of the small sculpture, between the boots of the boy. The boy wears an overcoat and bends forward, with full concentration, over his drawing board, which he draws against his stomach with his left arm. Even in this early small sculpture one becomes aware of van Wouw's obsession with fine detail such as the pocket knife behind the boy on the wooden box, the loose hanging straps of the overcoat, the cross-threaded shoelaces and the grain of the wooden box.' Created within the first few years following Van Wouw's return to South Africa from Italy, the sculptor had been recently widowed and the Anglo Boer War had begun. While a student of Van Wouw's, Leith would become a life long friend of the artist, a bond that was perhaps further strengthened at a time of traumatic circumstances. Depicting his subject in at state of contemplative concentration speaks to the creative tranquillity of their private lessons. Bibliography A. E. Duffey, Anton van Wouw: The Smaller Works, (Pretoria, 2008), p. 33. Saleroom notices: Please note, the provenance of this work should read as follows: Acquired directly from the artist, circa 1930s, The collection of Gordon Leith, By direct descent, A private collection. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing

Saleroom Notice:
Please note, the provenance of this work should read as follows: Acquired directly from the artist, circa 1930s, The collection of Gordon Leith, By direct descent, A private collection.