Lobi head
Lobi peoples
Burkina Faso
Early 20th century
H. 42,5 cm
Provenance :
Allan Stone collection (1932-2006), New-York.
This bust of Baathil ancestor are among the most characteristic and important works in the corpus of Lobi sculpture. Placed on a mound of earth forming an altar, they express with intensity the canons of the different Lobi styles. This head belongs to the Poyo style, which develops in the North-West of Burkina Faso in the Malba region.
This head, with half-closed eyes and shaved skull, is animated by a strong expressiveness, combined with the uniform erosion of hardwood, a sign of its antiquity. It expresses the talent of the hand of the master sculptor, the only member of the cultural group authorized to sculpt these effigies. Devoid of body, the bust must concentrate on the facial region all the hieraticism, serenity and power necessary for the representation of ancestors. The challenge is particularly successful here.
About Allan Stone (1932-2006)
Over the course of 50 years, the eminent art dealer and collector Allan Stone amassed an art collection unrivaled in diversity and depth. A self-proclaimed ‘art-junkie’, Stone was neither influenced by money nor swayed by opinion in the pursuit of art. He collected work that spoke to him.
This conviction was manifest from an early age. As a Harvard student in the 1950s, Stone purchased a Willem de Kooning drawing for $250, an expenditure that so outraged Stone’s father that he temporarily cut off his son’s tuition.
Stone took a degree in law - a calculated and temporary choice of career. As a young Wall Street lawyer, he provided free legal advice to artists and befriended gallerists. In 1960, with the backing of law associates, he opened his first gallery on East 82nd Street in Manhattan.
Stone was an early supporter and recognized authority on Abstract Expressionism and the New York School, accumulating an unrivaled collection of work. That said, fine art was hardly his only focus ; Stone’s tastes were famously wide-ranging. He was equally drawn to tribal art, folk art and Americana as well as Bugatti automobiles - all of which he exhibited in his gallery.
The portrait of Stone painted in words by the artists who knew him depicts a man devoted to family, friends and art, an expansive person with great humor, passion, integrity and the true collector’s lust for the objects he most admired. Artist Lorraine Shemesh, remembering Stone’s process for choosing pieces, stated, “He could make a visual decision very quickly. It was like love at first sight. He trusted his instincts.”
In The Collector, a documentary about Stone made by his daughter Olympia, Stone recalls periods when he went a long time without getting a jolt from a work of art, only to see something he loved and think, “Thank god, it’s still alive.”
Lobi peoples
Burkina Faso
Early 20th century
H. 42,5 cm
Provenance :
Allan Stone collection (1932-2006), New-York.
This bust of Baathil ancestor are among the most characteristic and important works in the corpus of Lobi sculpture. Placed on a mound of earth forming an altar, they express with intensity the canons of the different Lobi styles. This head belongs to the Poyo style, which develops in the North-West of Burkina Faso in the Malba region.
This head, with half-closed eyes and shaved skull, is animated by a strong expressiveness, combined with the uniform erosion of hardwood, a sign of its antiquity. It expresses the talent of the hand of the master sculptor, the only member of the cultural group authorized to sculpt these effigies. Devoid of body, the bust must concentrate on the facial region all the hieraticism, serenity and power necessary for the representation of ancestors. The challenge is particularly successful here.
About Allan Stone (1932-2006)
Over the course of 50 years, the eminent art dealer and collector Allan Stone amassed an art collection unrivaled in diversity and depth. A self-proclaimed ‘art-junkie’, Stone was neither influenced by money nor swayed by opinion in the pursuit of art. He collected work that spoke to him.
This conviction was manifest from an early age. As a Harvard student in the 1950s, Stone purchased a Willem de Kooning drawing for $250, an expenditure that so outraged Stone’s father that he temporarily cut off his son’s tuition.
Stone took a degree in law - a calculated and temporary choice of career. As a young Wall Street lawyer, he provided free legal advice to artists and befriended gallerists. In 1960, with the backing of law associates, he opened his first gallery on East 82nd Street in Manhattan.
Stone was an early supporter and recognized authority on Abstract Expressionism and the New York School, accumulating an unrivaled collection of work. That said, fine art was hardly his only focus ; Stone’s tastes were famously wide-ranging. He was equally drawn to tribal art, folk art and Americana as well as Bugatti automobiles - all of which he exhibited in his gallery.
The portrait of Stone painted in words by the artists who knew him depicts a man devoted to family, friends and art, an expansive person with great humor, passion, integrity and the true collector’s lust for the objects he most admired. Artist Lorraine Shemesh, remembering Stone’s process for choosing pieces, stated, “He could make a visual decision very quickly. It was like love at first sight. He trusted his instincts.”
In The Collector, a documentary about Stone made by his daughter Olympia, Stone recalls periods when he went a long time without getting a jolt from a work of art, only to see something he loved and think, “Thank god, it’s still alive.”
Lobi peoples
Burkina Faso
Early 20th century
H. 42,5 cm
Provenance :
Allan Stone collection (1932-2006), New-York.
This bust of Baathil ancestor are among the most characteristic and important works in the corpus of Lobi sculpture. Placed on a mound of earth forming an altar, they express with intensity the canons of the different Lobi styles. This head belongs to the Poyo style, which develops in the North-West of Burkina Faso in the Malba region.
This head, with half-closed eyes and shaved skull, is animated by a strong expressiveness, combined with the uniform erosion of hardwood, a sign of its antiquity. It expresses the talent of the hand of the master sculptor, the only member of the cultural group authorized to sculpt these effigies. Devoid of body, the bust must concentrate on the facial region all the hieraticism, serenity and power necessary for the representation of ancestors. The challenge is particularly successful here.
About Allan Stone (1932-2006)
Over the course of 50 years, the eminent art dealer and collector Allan Stone amassed an art collection unrivaled in diversity and depth. A self-proclaimed ‘art-junkie’, Stone was neither influenced by money nor swayed by opinion in the pursuit of art. He collected work that spoke to him.
This conviction was manifest from an early age. As a Harvard student in the 1950s, Stone purchased a Willem de Kooning drawing for $250, an expenditure that so outraged Stone’s father that he temporarily cut off his son’s tuition.
Stone took a degree in law - a calculated and temporary choice of career. As a young Wall Street lawyer, he provided free legal advice to artists and befriended gallerists. In 1960, with the backing of law associates, he opened his first gallery on East 82nd Street in Manhattan.
Stone was an early supporter and recognized authority on Abstract Expressionism and the New York School, accumulating an unrivaled collection of work. That said, fine art was hardly his only focus ; Stone’s tastes were famously wide-ranging. He was equally drawn to tribal art, folk art and Americana as well as Bugatti automobiles - all of which he exhibited in his gallery.
The portrait of Stone painted in words by the artists who knew him depicts a man devoted to family, friends and art, an expansive person with great humor, passion, integrity and the true collector’s lust for the objects he most admired. Artist Lorraine Shemesh, remembering Stone’s process for choosing pieces, stated, “He could make a visual decision very quickly. It was like love at first sight. He trusted his instincts.”
In The Collector, a documentary about Stone made by his daughter Olympia, Stone recalls periods when he went a long time without getting a jolt from a work of art, only to see something he loved and think, “Thank god, it’s still alive.”