Paul Robeson
Entry ID
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18 (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 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: 34 cm
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Width: 21 cm
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Depth: 30 cm
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Height (base): 11 cm
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Width (base): 18 cm
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Depth (base): 15.5 cm
Materials
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Bronze
Specific techniques used
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Casting
Overall colour
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Monochrome – brown
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
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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707
Provenance history
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1949: purchased by Touchstones Rochdale as part of the Jackson Bright Bequest
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Before 1949: Jackson Bright collection
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. It is uncertain which of the 19 versions listed by Silber equates to the present cast.
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 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/237
