Walking

Details

Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964)
Walking
signed, dated, numbered and inscribed '5/8F Archipenko Paris 1912' (on the right) and inscribed 'apres moi viendront des jours quand cette oeuvre guidera et les artistes sculpteront l'espace et le temps' (on the left); stamped with the foundry mark 'Modern Art Fdry NY' (at the back)
bronze with polychrome patina in blue and green
Height: 26 1/2 in. (67.3 cm.)
Conceived in terracotta in 1912; this bronze version cast circa 1968 in an edition of eight

Provenance

The artist's estate.
Acquired from the above in 1972.
Perls Galleries, New York.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in June 1988.

Literature

Y. Goll, T. Däubler & B. Cendrars, Archipenko-Album, Potsdam, 1921 (the terracotta version illustrated pl. 14; titled 'Gehende Frau' and dated '1910').
R. Schacht, "Archipenko, Belling und Westheim", in Der Sturm, vol. 14, no. 5, 1 May 1923, (another cast illustrated p. 75).
E. Wiese, Alexander Archipenko, Leipzig, 1923 (the terracotta version illustrated pl. VII; titled 'Gehende Frau').
A. Archipenko, Archipenko, Fifty Creative Years, 1908-1958, New York, 1960, no. 174 (another cast illustrated).
G. Sangiorgi, “La Pittura Scultorea di Archipenko,“ in Civiltà delle Macchine, vol. XI, n. 5, September-October 1963 (another cast illustrated p. 36).
D.H. Karshan, ed., Archipenko International Visionary, Washington, D.C., 1969, no. 11, p. 114(another cast illustrated p. 42).
N. Wadley, Cubism, New York, 1972, no. 136, p. 123 (another cast illustrated).
A.H. Barr, Jr., Cubism and Abstract Art, New York, 1974, no. 2, p. 204 (the terracotta version illustrated pl. 93; titled 'Walking Woman').
A.E. Elsen, Origins of modern sculpture: pioneers and premises, New York, 1974, no. 120, p. 172 (another cast illustrated pl. 120; titled 'Walking Woman').
D.H. Karshan, Archipenko, The Sculpture and Graphic Art, Tübingen, 1974, pp. 26 & 151 (other casts illustrated).
D.H. Karshan, "Les Revolutions d'Alexandre Archipenko", Plaisir de France 40, July 1974, pp. 12-17 (another cast illustrated pl. 11).
G.H. Hamilton, "Painting and Sculpture in Europe 1880-1940", in The Pelican History of Art, Baltimore, 1975, p. 597 (another cast illustrated pl. 158).
K.J Michaelsen, Archipenko: a study of the early works, 1908-1920, New York & London, 1977 (another cast illustrated pl. S88).
D.H. Karshan, Archipenko, Sculpture, Drawings and Prints, 1908-1963, Danville, Kentucky, 1985, no. 13a, p. 33 (this cast illustrated p. 45).
A. Barth, Alexander Archipenkos plastisches Œuvres, vol. II, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1997, no. 40, p. 86 (another cast illustrated p. 89).
R. Rosenblum, Cubism and the Twentieth Century Art, New York, 2001, p. 343 (another cast illustrated pl. 190; titled 'Walking Woman').

Special Notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Ishbel Gray

igray@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3338

Lot Essay

The Archipenko Foundation will include this work in the upcoming catalogue raisonné of sculptures by Alexander Archipenko.

In this historically pivotal subject, Archipenko innovatively uses negative space to emphasize the existence of the form, making this work quintessential in the history of the artist’s production. Walking also encompasses the first known attempt by any sculptor to use convex forms to replace the natural concavities of the human body.

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