Seated Woman (SK5)

Notes

A seated woman was a compelling motif that Kumalo frequently revisited. From 1959 to 1970 Kumalo created six different versions of this form. The present lot, conceived in 1959, is the earliest iteration, and is particularly significant, especially rare and important.

Seated Woman SK5 (1959) was the second sculpture by Kumalo to be cast in bronze (the first being Blind Girl SK4) and the first sculpture by Kumalo to be showcased by Egon Guenther. It was exhibited on A Connoisseur’s Choice held from November to December 1960 at the Egon Guenther Gallery, Connaught Mansions, Johannesburg. Well-known for his discerning standards, Guenther had undoubtedly chosen the work to express his high regard for Kumalo’s talents and promise as a sculptor. This was Kumalo’s second high-profile public exhibition, following on from Artists of Fame and Promise earlier in July of that year, where he had received the ‘special award’ for the most promising up-and-coming artist.

The work was singled out by two newspapers. Dirk Meerkotter, in ‘Keurige Tentoonstelling Móét Gesien Word’, Die Vaderland, 28 November 1960, wrote: ‘Sydney Kumalo se sittende figuur tref vanweë die eenvoud van tekstuur en interessante houding.’ Translated, this reads: ‘Tasteful Exhibition Must Be Seen’: ‘Sydney Kumalo’s sitting figure impresses because of its simplicity of texture/patina and interesting composition/form.’ H.E. Winder for Rand Daily Mail, 5 December 1960, wrote: ‘Sydney Kumalo’s Seated Figure is quite the best thing he has done for some time.’

Kumalo’s recognition on the international stage started with his inclusion in the Amadlozi Group which was formed by Guenther and toured Italy in 1963 and 1964. In December 1964 the well-known British (American) art dealer Eric Estorick, who owned the prestigious Grosvenor Gallery in London, visited South Africa, when he opened an exhibition at the Adler Fielding Galleries in Johannesburg of paintings by the Indian-born, British painter Francis Newton Souza (1924–2002), one of the international artists represented by the Grosvenor Gallery. In the article ‘Now, SA Art at the Grosvenor Gallery’ (1965), Estorick wrote: ‘I did not go with any preconceived idea of the standard of South African art or with the intention of arranging an exhibition in London... but I found rather more than I had expected of original and interesting work.’ He returned in June 1965 to select works of artists to exhibit at the Grosvenor Gallery in September/October of that year. Of the artists selected, Estorick noted: ‘I have chosen these artists because their work is of an international standard and deserves to be known abroad; and at the same time, they seem to me to represent specific South African qualities and problems.’

During this visit, Estorick entered into a ‘copyright arrangement’ with Guenther under which he purchased five terracottas by Kumalo, with the right to cast, for each, an edition of ten in bronze at the Fiorini & Carney Foundry in London. In payment for the copyright, for each of the five terracottas, three bronzes were to be returned to Guenther. However, explicitly for Seated Woman SK5 (1959) only two bronzes were to be returned to Guenther as he had already cast a bronze, the one exhibited at A Connoisseur’s Choice in November 1960. Guenther stamped these three with edition numbers 8/10, 9/10 and 10/10, all signed. The Grosvenor Gallery records from this period specify that Estorick cast two further bronzes, signed but not numbered. Thus in total, from the proposed edition of ten, only five bronzes were cast. This cast of Seated Woman SK5 on auction is one of the two signed but unnumbered Grosvenor Gallery casts.

The most outstanding tribute to the work was its selection for the 33rd Venice Biennale of 1966, where it was exhibited as Donna Seduta (catalogue No.19), alongside two other Kumalo sculptures Horse SK26 (1964) and Head Big Ears (Elongated) SK41 (1965). Notably, of the fifteen South African artists chosen for the Biennale, Kumalo was the only one selected to exhibit three works.

Thanks to Dr Gavin Watkins and Charles Skinner for their assistance with cataloguing this lot.

Literature

DA Meerkotter, (1960) ‘Keurige Tentoonstelling Móét Gesien Word’, Die Vaderland, 28 November 1960.

HE Winder, (1960) ‘Egon Guenther Gallery’, Rand Daily Mail, 5 December 1960.

Eric Estorick (1965) ' SA Art at the Grosvenor Gallery', Now, page 6 to 8.

Grosvenor Gallery (1965) South African Artists, exhibition catalogue, London: Grosvenor Gallery, London, catalogue No.17, another cast from the edition illustrated with the

DA Meerkotter, (1960) ‘Keurige Tentoonstelling Móét Gesien Word’, Die Vaderland, 28 November 1960.

HE Winder, (1960) ‘Egon Guenther Gallery’, Rand Daily Mail, 5 December 1960.

Eric Estorick (1965) ' SA Art at the Grosvenor Gallery', Now, page 6 to 8.

Grosvenor Gallery (1965) South African Artists, exhibition catalogue, London: Grosvenor Gallery, London, another cast from the edition illustrated with the title Seated Figure, cat no.17.

(1966) 33rd Venice Biennale, exhibition catalogue, another cast from the edition illustrated with the title Donna Seduta, cat. no.19.

Grosvenor Gallery (1966) Kumalo–Skotnes,, London: Grosvenor Gallery, another cast from the edition illustrated with the title Seated Figure – Hands in Lap, cat. no.5.

Max Wykes-Joyce (1966) ‘Skotnes and Kumalo’, Arts Review magazine, 18(14)23 July 1966, another cast from the edition illustrated on page 348.

Grosvenor Gallery (1966) Four Sculptors (Ayrton, Gutfreund, Kumalo, Neizvestny), exhibition catalogue, New York: Grosvenor Gallery, another cast from the edition illustrated, titled Seated Figure – Hands in Lap, cat. no.4.

Gavin Watkins and Charles Skinner (2023) The Sculptures of Sydney Kumalo and Ezrom Legae: A Catalogue Raisonné, Johannesburg: Strauss & Co, another cast from the edition illustrated in colour on pages 17, 106, 119, 120 and 624.

Provenance

Gavin Watkins Collection.

Private Collection, Johannesburg.

Exhibited

Grosvenor Gallery, New York, Four Sculptors (Ayrton, Gutfreund, Kumalo, Neizvestny), 22 November to 31 December 1966, another casting exhibited.

Grosvenor Gallery, London, Kumalo–Skotnes, 12 July to 6 August 1966, another casting exhibited.

Venice, 33rd Venice Biennale, 18 June to 16 October 1966, another casting exhibited.

Grosvenor Gallery, London, South African Artists, 28 September to 16 October 1965, another casting exhibited.

Egon Guenther Gallery, Johannesburg, A Connoisseur’s Choice, November to December 1960, another casting exhibited.