Lot Essay
Ann Compton comments in her monograph on Jagger, 'This statuette was commissioned by Lord Esher, who was a trusted advisor of the Royal Family. Evelyn Shaw, Secretary of the British School at Rome, acted as a go-between in negotiations with Jagger. In January 1922 Jagger submitted several sketches to Lord Esher, suggesting that he had been given the commission in 1921. The number of sittings granted by the Prince is unclear, but at least one took place in Lady Feodora Gleichen's studio at St James's Place. Jagger appears to have based the pullover worn by the Prince on a photograph showing him dressed for playing squash and reproduced in The Prince of Wales: A Pictorial Record of the Voyage of HMS Renown 1919-20. Jagger was asked to match the patination of the finished bronze to the colour of a piece of pottery belonging to 'Sassoon'. Lord Esher was 'immensely proud' of this statuette' (see A. Compton, loc. cit.).