
Penny Day
Head of UK and Ireland
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Head of UK and Ireland

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We are grateful to Dr. Judith Collins for compiling this catalogue entry.
This newly discovered figure of a female nude appears to be a work carved by Gill for his own pleasure, from a small stone off cut. The pose of the figure, with the head bent forward and inclined, is found in two other well known nudes by Gill, Eve, carved from Bath stone in 1928 (collection Tate), and Chloe, carved from Caen stone in 1930 (collection University of Texas at Austin). Both of these figures have folds of drapery that swirl around their thighs. However, Eve's arms are placed behind her back and she does not hold the drapery, while Chloe presses the drapery to her thighs to maintain its place. This figure adopts another method, gently pinching the cloth and letting it fall into a graceful curve. Eve was carved for Gill's own pleasure, while Chloe was carved as a commission for writer and publisher Leonard Woolf, husband of Virginia. Leonard Woolf gave the commission to Gill in 1928, and two drawings for Chloe exist, dated 5.11.1928.
The identity of this small delightful figure is as yet unknown, but the execution date seems to hover around 1928-29. For several years at this time, Gill was working in basic conditions in Capel-y-ffin in rural Wales. The present work was acquired around twenty years ago in nearby Ross-on-Wye.
We are grateful to Dr. Judith Collins for compiling this catalogue entry.