On Thursday, June 4th, Swann Auction Galleries sale of African-American Fine Art included a record breaking price of 629,000 USD (with buyer's premium) for sculptor Richmond Barthe's Feral Benga. The cast bronze sculpture with dark patina modeled in 1935 and cast in 1986 reached a hammer price of 520,000 USD, nearly 9 times its high estimate of 60,000 USD.
The signed 19 inch sculpture (excluding marble base) is numbered 1/10 and cast under the supervision of the artist and the Richmond Barthé Trust. Swann's sale of African-American Fine Art, April 2013 sold edition number 9/10 for 43,200 USD.
James Richmond Barthé (American, 1901-1989), known for his works depicting the Black experience and for his studies of the male physique, was a leading member of the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Mississippi, he was trained at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York.
Feral Benga has been described as "Barthé's signature piece." It portrays François (a.k.a. Feral) Benga, a Senegalese cabaret dancer, who, like his female counterpart Josephine Baker, created a sensation on the Paris stage with his "carnal choreography often set in steamy and distant places." Barthé saw Benga perform in 1934 and began modeling the sculpture immediately after his return to New York City. The resulting work is a powerful blend of traditional European modes of sculpture combined with elements of modernity and the African American experience. (Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
Féral Benga, 1937, by Carl Van Vechten (Library of Congress)
Other Recent Auction Sales of Barthe's Sculpture
Inner Music, 1961/1986. Bronze on marble base. 23-1/2 inches (height). Signed and dated 86, AP. Sold for 62,500 USD at Black Art Auction, May 16, 2020. (see below, left)
Girl Putting Flower in Hair, 1965/1987. Bronze on a marble base. 20 inches (height). Signed, dated 87, AP. Sold for 27,500 USD at Black Art Auction, May 16, 2020.
The Awakening of Africa (Africa Awakening), 1959. Cast bronze with a dark brown patina. Approximately 15 x 28 x 8. Signed "BARTHÉ" on the top of bronze base. Sold for 87,500 USD at Swann Auction Galleries, African-American Fine Art, October 5, 2017.
Publications
Lewis, Samella Sanders, and Richmond Barthé. Barthé: His Life in Art. Los Angeles, Calif: Unity Works, 2009.
Smalls, James. Féral Benga: African Muse of Modernism. Nka 1 November 2017; 2017 (41): 44–59.
Vendryes, Margaret Rose. Barthé: A Life in Sculpture. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2008.
