Paul Manship Sagittarius Bronze To be Offered in James D. Julia, Inc.’s February 2018 Fine Art, Asian & Antiques Auction
PAUL MANSHIP SAGITTARIUS BRONZE James D. Julia, Inc. is honored to present this important Paul Manship bronze Sagittarius at our upcoming February 2018 auction. The truly out-of-this-world discovery is from a model for his monumental “Celestial Sphere” masterpiece. The Celestial Sphere is recognized universally as a symbol of hope and peace and is among the finest works by Paul Manship, unquestionably one of the foremost, highly respected, and influential American artists of the Art Deco period. The Celestial Sphere is best known as the memorial created to honor the founding father of the League of Nations, President Woodrow Wilson, at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The 12’ Swiss version, installed in 1939, features 85 separately modeled constellations of the universe featured in both hemispheres—including the Sagittarius zodiac sign. A smaller version of the Celestial Sphere, scaled to 5’ with 66 constellations, was produced for the Aero Memorial in Aviator Park in Philadelphia to honor aviators who died in World War I. Measuring 18-1/2” high by 191/2” wide, this Sagittarius is signed both by the artist and by the foundry in the bronze and has been authenticated as a life-time cast authorized and overseen by Paul Manship by Rebecca Reynolds, a Manship scholar and curator who was formerly with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and currently is the board President for the Manship Artists Residency + Studios. This sculpture was given by Paul Manship to his nephew Will Manship. In an accompanying letter dated July 3, 1956, Manship writes in part to his nephew, “…from a model of the celestial sphere I made some years ago and represent constellations of the sky – Sagittarius = the zodiacal sign = Nov 22 to Dec 21-22 with the Corona Australis = the little band of stars is the outline of the milky way… Stella & William Manship with curved as to conform Sagittarius bronze mounted to the sphere which over their fireplace is about 5 ft. in diameter = I made the sphere larger – about 12 ft. as a Woodrow Wilson Memorial at the Garden of the United Nations Bld. at Geneva Switz.” The importance of this gift was not lost on Will, who retained and treasured his Sagittarius sculpture. He proudly displayed it over the fireplace mantel in his Minnesota home where it was enjoyed by generations of the Manship family and appears faithfully in snapshots taken at family gatherings over the course of many decades. Today the Manship family has decided to place this piece of American art history into the trusted hands of James D. Julia. Inc. to be included in our highly anticipated auction in February of 2018.
Celestial Sphere 1939, United Nations, Geneva Manship described this sphere in the following words: “The representation of the heavenly constellations is derived from Babylonia and Assyria: the Greeks and Latins added their names and gave the constellations a local significance in some cases and I have adhered as closely as possible to the ancient forms. Thus the star, Aldebaran, which represents the eye of Taurus, dictates the character of the design, as is also the case of Regulus, Leo’s Heart, and so with all the constellations. The forms and attitudes of the figures have been made to correspond firstly with the positions and the meanings of the emblems themselves. After that the inter-relationship of the constellations was designed to create a harmonious ensemble.” Aero Memorial 1948, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Aero Memorial is located in Philadelphia’s Aviator Park, across from The Franklin Institute at 20th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The memorial is a tribute to those aviators who died in World War I, and it was initiated by the Aero Club of Pennsylvania in 1917 with the help of the Fairmount Park Art Association.
When the sculpture came to us it was such a nice reminder of the love he showed to all of us and of his generosity as well. We were lucky to have such a nice reminder of him and an art appreciation area in our home. —Manship Family
The auction catalog will be available in January 2018. Contact us to reserve your copy. www.jamesdjulia.com
Paul Manship
Manship Brothers with their Uncle Paul
Paul Manship (left) with Stella & William Manship
Mary, Isabel, Paul and William Manship (left to right)
Christmas 1965
Paul Manship with family members
The Sagittarius was witness to the messiness and fun of a large family life. Taken in sum, quite the treasure!
Bob, Florence & John Manship
Christmas with the Manships
Stella & William Manship
Manship family gathering
Stella & William Manship with Sagittarius bronze mounted over their fireplace
antiques@jamesdjulia.com | (207) 453-7125 | jamesdjulia.com | Fairfield, ME | Auctioneer: James D. Julia | Lic#: ME: AR83 | MA: AU1406
Paul Manship Artist Biography By the time he was fifteen years old, Paul Manship had decided he wanted to become a sculptor. He was born the day before Christmas, in 1885, in St. Paul, Minnesota, the youngest of seven children. After attending Mechanical Arts High School, he took evening classes at the St. Paul Institute School of Art, but left to work as a designer and illustrator. In 1905 he enrolled in the Art Students League in New York City and after a few months of formal study became an assistant to the sculptor Solon Borglum, whom he considered a critical influence on his work. After further study he received a three-year scholarship to study in Rome where he fell under the spell of Greek antiquity and the beauty of classicism. He traveled extensively before returning to the United States in 1912 where he became an immediate success, launching a career that would last fifty years. The critics and public unanimously acclaimed him a major new talent. There was a rising tide of enthusiasm for his graceful work, and he sold all of the ninety-six bronze statutes he showed in his first exhibition. One year later he received his first important commissions for garden and architectural sculpture from New York architects.
Paul Manship, Bald Eagle, 1955
Early in his career Manship became attracted to animal sculptures and showed a great interest in mythical stories and characters. He became known for his freely modeled forms and dramatic gestures. “I like to express movement in my figures. It’s a fascinating problem which I’m always trying to solve,” he said. He also noted, “I’m not especially interested in anatomy, though naturally I’ve studied it. And, although I approve generally of normally correct proportions, what matters is the spirit which the artist puts into his creation—the vitality, the rhythm, the emotional effect.” Some of Manship’s well-known works are the Prometheus Fountain in Rockefeller Center, the gates to the entrances of the Bronx Zoo and the Central Park Zoo, and the Time and Fates Sundial and Moods of Time sculptures installed in front of Trylon and Perisphere at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. Nora Panzer Mythology and the Art of Paul Manship, teachers’ guide (Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1989)
About the Sagittarius Bronze The Sagittarius zodiac sculpture that James D. Julia, Inc. will be offering depicts the centaur (half man, half beast) holding a bow and arrow above which is a title banner “Sagittarius,” also a banner with “Corona Australis” under a crown depicting the constellation found below Sagittarius in the sky. A string of 15 stars represent the stars of the Milky Way. Having remained in family hands and never being offered for public sale until now, this important discovery has been vetted and authenticated by Rebecca Reynolds, a Manship scholar and curator who was formerly with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and currently is the board President for the Manship Artists Residency + Studios, as a life-time cast authorized and overseen by Paul Manship. Accompanying the bronze is the aforementioned letter written in Manship’s own hand, dated July 3, 1956. Sagittarius is the ninth sign of the zodiac. Sagittarians are truth-seekers, they are interested in philosophy and religion. What they want most is to know the meaning of life. (estimate: $500,000-700,000)
antiques@jamesdjulia.com (207) 453-7125 jamesdjulia.com | Fairfield, ME Auctioneer: James D. Julia Lic#: ME: AR83 | MA: AU1406