Strauss & co - 8 - 11 November 2020

89 THE LATE DESMOND FISHER COLLECTION T O P L A C E A B I D C L I C K O N T H E R E D L O T N U M B E R The group of bronzes that Sydney Kumalo produced in the 1960s, when under the sway of Egon Guenther, is a high-point of South African modernism. Defined by elongated or squat forms, lacerated and hand-rasped surfaces, off-beat cylindrical volumes, poignant simplification, and rich, gorgeous patinas, these works won high acclaim. Powerful, ageless, landmark sculptures – Seated Woman , Killed Horse , St Francis of Assisi , Black Leopard (all 1962), Cock (1963), Portrait of Egon and Beast (both 1965), to name only a few – elevated his reputation, as did ground-breaking shows in Johannesburg and London. With his fellow Amadlozi artists, moreover, he exhibited in Rome, Venice, Florence and Milan in 1962–63, and had work selected for the Venice Biennale in 1966. Critical and commercial success allowed him to vacate his teaching post at the Polly Street Art Centre in 1964 to focus fulltime on his career. Between 1966 and 1968, riding a peak of creativity, Kumalo became drawn to the motif of the male elder. He developed the theme across twelve small yet monumental works, each as intense, stirring and memorable as the next: this fabled group came to be recognised as the artist’s Madala Series (see figures 1–12). The first four of these sculptures, all conceived in 1966, were High Shoulders , Begga r, Tongue Out and Madala I , the present lot, which was also the first to carry the madala appellation. Indebted to traditional African sculpture, and infused with the artist’s own cultural loyalties, this madala figure holds an unusual pose: the weight of the body rests on the bent right knee, while the left heel is raised high on stiff toes; the arms are held close to a beautifully pocked and scarified belly; aged breasts droop; the neck is hidden; and the head, oversized and extended, with its long and barrelled nose, its conical chin, its reduced, pursed lips, and its deep-set and gently closed eyes, is angled upwards, as if catching the sun or happily lost in memory. Under the careful watch of Guenther, Madala I was cast at the Vignali Foundry in Pretoria, and an edition of 10 planned. Only a single casting was produced, however: this unique bronze was shown in 1967 at the 14th annual exhibition of the Transvaal Academy at the Pretoria Art Museum, where it won the Bronze medal. Having remained a treasured part of the late Desmond Fisher collection for decades, the re-appearance of Madala I , a work of such charm, artistry and weight, is of great excitement to academics and collectors alike. Figure 2. Beggar , 1966 Figure 1. High Shoulders , 1966 Figure 3. Tongue Out , 1966 Figure 4. The present lot Figure 5. Madala II (hands on chin) , 1967 Figure 6. Madala III (chin on knees) , 1967 Figure 7. Madala IV (pierced ears) , 1967 Figure 12. The Listener , 1968 Figure 11. Happy Madala , 1968 Figure 10. Madala VII , 1967 Figure 9. Madala VI (arms down, flat face) , 1967 Figure 8. Madala V (big face) , 1967