Lady in the Bath
Entry ID
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128 (18/02/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Lady in the Bath
Description of the sculpture
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Lady in the Bath is a small sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle made in an edition of 7 in 1984 and is from her recognisable Nana series. It depicts a Black woman in a brightly coloured and patterned bathing suit, reclining in a bathtub. She appears not to notice a colourful serpent who is uncoiling from around the base of the bathtub and preparing to join her in the bath. This sculpture is made from painted polyester.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Statuette
Base
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No base
Dimensions
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Height: 16.5 cm
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Width: 18 cm
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Depth: 10 cm
Materials
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Other
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Paint / pigment
Specific techniques used
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Casting
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Polychromy
Overall colour
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Polychrome
Inscriptions
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Signed underneath: 'Niki de Saint Phalle 7/7’
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Anonymous: generic/idealised type
Role within sculpture
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Main protagonist
Gender
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Female
Age
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Adult
Status
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Free citizen
Clothing
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Partially clothed
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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None
Action or activity
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Other
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Unfocussed/blank eyeballs
Sculptural context
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No location included/implied
Sculptor
Period of production
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Twentieth century (1900-1999)
Date of Production
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1984
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Original purpose
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Decorative
Original display setting
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Secular Domestic: other
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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S.459
Provenance history
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2012: Gifted by Eric and Jean Cass to Glasgow Museums
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11 November 1985: purchased by Eric and Jean Cass from Gimpel Fils, London
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/1045, . (no date) ‘Lady in the Bath’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/1053
