Skip to main content

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

Reuben Nakian (1897-1986) Head of Marcel Duchamp 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high (Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.) image 1
Reuben Nakian (1897-1986) Head of Marcel Duchamp 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high (Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.) image 2
Reuben Nakian (1897-1986) Head of Marcel Duchamp 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high (Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.) image 3
Reuben Nakian (1897-1986) Head of Marcel Duchamp 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high (Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.) image 4
Reuben Nakian (1897-1986) Head of Marcel Duchamp 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high (Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.) image 5
Reuben Nakian (1897-1986) Head of Marcel Duchamp 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high (Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.) image 6
Reuben Nakian (1897-1986) Head of Marcel Duchamp 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high (Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.) image 7
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA
Lot 90

Reuben Nakian
(1897-1986)
Head of Marcel Duchamp 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high

18 November 2021, 14:00 EST
New York

Sold for US$26,562.50 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our American Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

Reuben Nakian (1897-1986)

Head of Marcel Duchamp
inscribed and numbered 'NAKIAN 0/7 / 1943' (on the base) and inscribed 'ROMAN BRONZE WORKS INC.' (on the base)
bronze with brown patina
22 in. (55.9 cm.) high
Modeled in 1943; cast in 1963.

Footnotes

Provenance
Egan Gallery, New York, commissioned from the artist, 1963.
Acquired by the present owner circa 1985.

Literature
"Two Great American Artists," Vogue, October 15, 1961, v. 138, p. 91, another example illustrated.
B. O'Doherty, "Art: Mythmaking in the 20th Century; Nakian's Sculpture is Shown at the Egan; 'Voyage to Crete' and 'Olympia' on Display," The New York Times, March 20, 1962, vol. CXI, no. 38,041, p. 34, another example listed.
The Contemporary Art Council, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Reuben Nakian Sculpture & Drawings, exhibition catalogue, Los Angeles, 1962, n.p., no. 1, another example listed.
"Nakian's Works in Major Show at N.Y. Museum of Modern Art," Bridgeport Sunday Post, June 19, 1966, vol. LXXVII, no. 25, p. B-20, another example illustrated.
Committee on Public Works, Hirshhorn Museum: (89-35) Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds of the Committee on Public Works House of Representatives Eighty-Ninth Congress Second Session on H.R. 15121, and related bills, Washington, D.C., 1966, p. 98, another example listed.
F. O'Hara, Nakian, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1966, pp. 11-13, 43, 45, 53, no. 1, another example illustrated.
F. O'Hara, Art Chronicles: 1954-1966, New York, 1975, p. 86, another example listed. (as Head of Duchamp)
"Reuben Nakian's Busy Year of Being 80," Bridgeport Sunday Post, October 16, 1977, vol. LXXXVIII, no. 42, p. E-7, another example listed.
R.P. Metzger, Reuben Nakian: Centennial Retrospective 1897-1986, exhibition catalogue, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1998, pp. 11-12, 37, 98, 104-105, another example illustrated. (as Marcel Duchamp)

We are grateful to Atelier Nakian, LLC for their kind assistance in cataloging this lot.

There are 8 known versions and 2 artist proofs of Head of Marcel Duchamp that were produced by Roman Bronze Works. Other examples of Head of Marcel Duchamp are found in the collections of the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware, Hirshhorn Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Additional information

Bid now on these items

David Howard Hitchcock(1861-1943)Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout, Oʻahu 20 x 30 in.

MILTON AVERY(1885-1965)Figure on the Jetty 46 x 33 in. (116.8 x 83.8 cm.)

ARTHUR DOVE(1880-1946)Centerport IV sheet 5 7/8 x 8 7/8 in. (14.9 x 22.5 cm.)

MAX WEBER(1881-1961)Still Life 10 7/8 x 15 1/4 in. (27.6 x 38.7 cm.)

British School(19th Century)Portrait of a Boy with a Bow and Arrow, Full-Length, in A Blue Jacket and Yellow Breeches

After Elie Nadelman(1882-1946)Ideal Head 12 1/2 in. high, on a 6 in. high marble base

William Moore(British, 1790-1851)A Family Portrait

After Jane Peterson(1876-1965)Beach Scene sight size 7 5/8 x 11 3/4, frame size 15 3/8 x 19 3/8 in. framed.

Louis Michel Eilshemius(American, 1864-1941)Cows in Pasture

Ethel(Polly) Randolph Thayer Starr (American, 1904-2006)Portrait of Mary Elizabeth Sears Baring-Gould

Terry Rodgers(American, born 1947)Hillside Garden, 1989

Georges Léon Dufrenoy(French, 1870-1942)Figures in a Park by a Chateau

Henry Justice Ford(British, 1860-1941)Knitting in Her Chair

James Thorpe Flaherty(1836-1904)Boats Mooring with Distant Mountains

William Sharp(American, 1900-1961)Ice Skating in the Park

William Sharp(American, 1900-1961)New York City Subway

Bob Ross(American, 1942-1995)A Cabin Among the Mountains in Winter

Bob Ross(American, 1942-1995)An Alpine Lake Under Pink and Blue Skies

Wolf Kahn(American, 1927-2020)Gihon River, Vermont, 1994

Wolf Kahn(American, 1927-2020)Vermont Riverside at Dusk, 1993

Scott Prior(American, born 1949)Elm Tree

Scott Prior(American, born 1949)Late Afternoon Sunlight

Gregory Gillespie(American, 1936-2000)Untitled, 1973