Leda
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Medium - Bronze
Date - 1959
Size - 43 inches (109 cms) height
Edition - 3 plus 0 (0 was cast in Aluminium)
Exhibited - The Waddington Galleries, London (1959). Penwith Galleries, St
Ives
(1959).
Collections - Collection of Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Collection of National
Gallery of New South Wales, Australia and Private.
Auction details - Ed ? of 3 Sold Sothebys, London, 11/2020, Hammer price £32,000.00
Publications
- Illustrated Glynn Vivian Gallery Catalogue,
Swansea (1979)
Notes. Leda and the swan is a Greek myth in which Zeus, in the form of a swan,
seduces Leda, a Spartan queen. The outcome was Helen, of Troy fame and Pollux,
of Castor and Pollux fame. It is not my place to give a lesson on greek history
but they all had interesting lives. Denis was fascinated with Greek mythology,
a very well thumbed copy of 'Bullfinch's Mythology' attests to this, and you
might be able to see the graceful curve of the neck of a swan suggested by the
name.
But
I
think
Denis at this early stage was playing with names to see how this influenced
how
the viewer perceived a work. A wooden sculpture in the care of the Royal Albert
Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter titled 'Cherrywood Form' gives an
indication of the direction that Denis's work was moving and it's suggestion
of
flight
and
movement is echoed in Leda. In my opinion it was moving away from the influence
and work
that Denis was still working on for Barbara.
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