Man Walking
Entry ID
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4 (04/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Man Walking
Previous title(s)
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'Black Man Walking'
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Listed as 'Jamaican Negro' at the Royal Academy exhibition in 1929
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Listed as 'Walking Negro' at the Venice Biennale exhibition in 1930
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The title in the 2022 Pallant House exhibition is 'Jamaican Man Walking (Henry Thomas)'which gets the sense of the various titles and includes the model's name and geographic origin.
Description of the sculpture
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Bronze cast of an armless male nude figure standing with feet positioned in the act of striding. The figure is depicted with incomplete genitalia. The sculpture is cast with a flat, narrow base.
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The model is known - Henry Thomas – but the pose could be seen in the classical tradition, or as allegorical, and the socked feet in the tradition of academic sculpture.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Statue: Full-length figure (single)
Base
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Base present - appears to be the original base
Dimensions
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Height: 85.5 cm
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Width: 47.5 cm
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Depth: 18.5 cm
Materials
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Bronze
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Other
Specific techniques used
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Casting
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Patination
Overall colour
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Monochrome – black
Inscriptions
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Back of base: '4/8'
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Identifiable: specific individual
Identity of Black person (real or fictive)
Role within sculpture
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Main protagonist
Gender
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Male
Age
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Adult
Status
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Uncertain
Clothing
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Naked
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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None
Action or activity
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Standing
Emotional state
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Neutral/emotionless
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Unfocussed/blank eyeballs
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Other
Sculptural context
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No location included/implied
Sculptor
Place of production
Period of production
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Twentieth century (1900-1999)
Date of Production
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1929
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Original purpose
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Unknown
Original display setting
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Unknown
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Secular Civic: other
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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FA300011
Provenance history
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1973: donated to Brighton Museum and Art Gallery by Ms. Gabrielle Cross (Glyn Philpot's niece)
Notes
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Inscription on back records it as casting number 4 of an edition of 8.
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Sculpture is made from bronze and metal.
Associated with
Related objects
License terms for reuse
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
 Figure Walking |
Related objects | E22 Man-Made Object |
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/38, . (no date) ‘Man Walking’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/176
