Christie’s roundel
Lot 341 PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTOR

Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964)

Femme assise

Closed5 May 2010

Price Realised

USD 74,500

More Information

How to sell

Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964)
Femme assise
signed, inscribed, dated and numbered 'Archipenko Paris 1912 5/12 F' (on the back)
bronze with brown patina
Height: 16 in. (40.6 cm.)
Conceived in 1912; this bronze version cast by the estate of the artist, 1966

Estate of the artist.
David B. Findlay Galleries, New York (1972).
Anon. sale, Christie's, New York, 11 May 1989, lot 310.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Specialist note

The Archipenko Foundation will include this bronze in their forthcoming catalogue raisonné of sculptures by Alexander Archipenko.

Archipenko sought to apply the lessons of Cubist painting to sculpture, and this process is evident in the tubular, angular forms of Femme assise. He also utilized the concept of presenting multiple views of the subject simultaneously. When seen from a stationary point, Femme assise is a combination of frontal and profile views of the female figure. The distorted forms owe much to the influence of Mannerism, although in Femme assise Archipenko strives for expressive strength rather than gracefulness or elegance.