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Lot Essay
Bird, 1946 was conceived when the artist was just 24 years old and while he was still at the Slade School of Fine Art. It is a remarkable and rare early sculpture by the young artist who at this stage of his career was looking towards the European masters to find his way. In the late 1940s, neo-romanticism was the art movement that dominated London, which in essence was an expression of the physical and mental isolation of Britain from continental Europe during the war, combined with an earlier antipathy towards European abstract art. Turnbull wanted his work to move in a different direction, away from neo-romanticism.
In his early years as an illustrator and artist Turnbull lived in Dundee. He showed inclination to appreciate radical modern art as direct, natural and immediate expressions of the present rather than objects of connoisseurship. 'Cézanne and Monet were especially important for him as he saw a greater directness of contents and presentation in their work, than in any British art he saw, which seemed more cautious and indirect' (R. Morphet, exhibition catalogue, Commentary, William Turnbull Sculpture and Painting, London, Tate Gallery, 1973, p. 21). At the Slade Turnbull met Eduardo Paolozzi, Richard Hamilton and Nigel Henderson who shared his interest in contemporary continental modernist art.
Turnbull looked to artists like Julio González and Pablo Picasso who together in the 1930s continued the tradition of welded sculpture, and during this decade González made a number of his seminal works, amongst them Petit tête au triangle, circa 1933 (fig. 1), which has close ties to Bird, 1946. When working and living in Paris in the late 1940s Turnbull was very aware of González and met Constantin Brancusi, Fernard Léger and Alberto Giacometti and visited their studios. Turnbull was excited by their work and Giacometti's pre-war surrealist sculptures were a strong influence on his work at this time.
The present work is made from pieces of copper sheets and rods and The Bird, another work from 1946, together with Untitled, 1946 are the only known sculptures made in copper by Turnbull. 'Bird, 1946 and Untitled, 1946 consist of a number of copper rods and sheets, rising from a solid base. Bird is ... three-dimensional and here the rods not only play a role as part of the suggested form but also appear to confine and imprison the image of the bird. These rods pinion the wings to several parts of the main sculpture, as though the bird has merged with its own cage. Or the rods are an expressions of its freedom' (see A. Davidson, loc. cit., p. 12).
This dramatic transformation of Turnbull's sculpture in 1946 was instrumental in producing some of the most exciting three dimensional works in his career. The constructive technique of building with welded copper forms allowed Turnbull to develop into a fully rounded play of mass, space and volume, producing geometrical, transparent sculptures such as Bird, 1946.
In his early years as an illustrator and artist Turnbull lived in Dundee. He showed inclination to appreciate radical modern art as direct, natural and immediate expressions of the present rather than objects of connoisseurship. 'Cézanne and Monet were especially important for him as he saw a greater directness of contents and presentation in their work, than in any British art he saw, which seemed more cautious and indirect' (R. Morphet, exhibition catalogue, Commentary, William Turnbull Sculpture and Painting, London, Tate Gallery, 1973, p. 21). At the Slade Turnbull met Eduardo Paolozzi, Richard Hamilton and Nigel Henderson who shared his interest in contemporary continental modernist art.
Turnbull looked to artists like Julio González and Pablo Picasso who together in the 1930s continued the tradition of welded sculpture, and during this decade González made a number of his seminal works, amongst them Petit tête au triangle, circa 1933 (fig. 1), which has close ties to Bird, 1946. When working and living in Paris in the late 1940s Turnbull was very aware of González and met Constantin Brancusi, Fernard Léger and Alberto Giacometti and visited their studios. Turnbull was excited by their work and Giacometti's pre-war surrealist sculptures were a strong influence on his work at this time.
The present work is made from pieces of copper sheets and rods and The Bird, another work from 1946, together with Untitled, 1946 are the only known sculptures made in copper by Turnbull. 'Bird, 1946 and Untitled, 1946 consist of a number of copper rods and sheets, rising from a solid base. Bird is ... three-dimensional and here the rods not only play a role as part of the suggested form but also appear to confine and imprison the image of the bird. These rods pinion the wings to several parts of the main sculpture, as though the bird has merged with its own cage. Or the rods are an expressions of its freedom' (see A. Davidson, loc. cit., p. 12).
This dramatic transformation of Turnbull's sculpture in 1946 was instrumental in producing some of the most exciting three dimensional works in his career. The constructive technique of building with welded copper forms allowed Turnbull to develop into a fully rounded play of mass, space and volume, producing geometrical, transparent sculptures such as Bird, 1946.