The gilt bronze lifetime bust of George Washington. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
A lifetime portrait bust of George Washington comes up at Sotheby’s in London on December 10. The gilt-bronze sculpture is from the celebrated Royal Laboratory established by King Charles III of Spain in Madrid in 1759. Dating to the 1790s, the bust was commissioned to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of San Lorenzo with the United States, which declared a state of mutual friendship between the two nations. It is thought to be based on a painting by Guiseppe Perovani commissioned by the Spanish charge d’affaires in Philadephia and gifted to Prime Minister Manuel Godoy in 1796.
Christopher Mason, Sotheby’s Old Master Sculpture Specialist, said: “The modelling and execution is of the highest quality and the identity of the sitter is unmistakable. Washington is Presidential in his demeanor, the sharpness of the bronze casting seemingly reflecting the Enlightenment values of this victorious democratic leader.”
Estimated at £200,000-300,000 it will come up at Sotheby’s sale of Old Master Sculpture and works of art.