Paul Robeson
Entry ID
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17 (06/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Paul Robeson
Description of the sculpture
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Bronze head of Paul Robeson, an American concert artist, stage and film actor, athlete, political activist and civil rights campaigner. He is depicted with his head lifted and his eyes looking up. The head is elevated on a square, two-tier black marble base.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Head
Base
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Base present - appears to be the original base
Dimensions
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Height (overall): 34.5 cm
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Width (overall): 21.5 cm
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Depth (overall): 29.5 cm
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Height (base): 14 cm
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Width (base): 20 cm
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Depth (base): 22 cm
Materials
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Bronze
Specific techniques used
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Casting
Overall colour
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Monochrome – brown
Inscriptions
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Signed on back of neck: 'Epstein'
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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Free citizen
Clothing
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No clothes included (head)
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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None
Action or activity
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Not relevant (head)
Emotional state
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Neutral/emotionless
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Looking upwards
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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1928 (original model)
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Price history
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1955: £271.15.6d (£5,269.82 in 2021)
Original purpose
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Decorative
Original display setting
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Unknown
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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YORAG : 863
Provenance history
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14th December 1955: purchased by York Art Gallery
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14 December 1955: sold by Sotheby's (lot 76)
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unknown date (before December 1955): owned by Leslie de Sarum
Exhibition ID number
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London 1928, no. 80
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London 1939, no. 6
Notes
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The original plaster model is in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. The head was modelled by Epstein during his 4-month stay in New York City (late 1927 to early 1928), when he was there for his exhibition at the Ferargil Gallery. A version (cast unknown) was exhibited at the Godfrey Phillips Gallery in 1928, and at Zwemmer's in 1939. Silber 1986 lists 19 known versions.
Reference pages
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Silber 1986, pp. 162-163, cat. no. 183. NB This is listed as no. 5 under 'Provenance'.
Associated with
Related objects
License terms for reuse
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
 Paul Robeson |
Associated with | E22 Man-Made Object |
 Paul Robeson's Son |
Associated with | E22 Man-Made Object |
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
 Paul Robeson |
Related objects | E22 Man-Made Object |
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/21, . (no date) ‘Paul Robeson’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 21, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/231
