Vivien Mallock

Churchill Bronze Bust by Vivien Mallock

Circa 2015

Ivor Roberts-Jones 1916-1996 British Sir Winston Churchill Numbered “132” (on base) Bronze with a brown patina on a stone base “My dear friends, this is your hour.” These were Wi...

This monumental bust is a museum-quality example of Roman Baroque sculpture. Crafted by the legendary Domenico Guidi and carved from Carrara marble, the impressive portrait captures the visage of Pope Innocent XI, Benedetto Odescalchi (1611-1689). It presents a larger-than-life example of Guidi’s remarkable skill as a sculptor, which ultimately made his workshop one of the most important in Rome during his age. Today, his works are rarely found on the market, particularly his extraordinary works in marble. Pope Innocent XI was born Benedetto Odescalchi into an Italian noble family of prominent bankers. Spending his early years in banking, he eventually turned to the law, earning his doctorate in 1639. His background would serve him well in his service to the papacy, and he became known as a frugal and devout member of the Church. In 1676, he was unanimously elected Pop after the death of Clement X. During his nearly 13-year reign, he instilled his own personal ideals of austerity and frugality onto the Church, with a deep commitment to reform and piety. He is captured here by Guidi in his traditional Pope’s mozzetta and camauro cap. A wide stole is draped over his shoulders, ornamented by acanthus leaves and the coat of arms of the Odescalchi family. It displays Guidi’s mastery over the chiaroscuro effect, particularly in the high level of contrast in his cheeks and his eyes, which Guidi achieved through various methods of high polish. A very similar portrait sculpture of Pope Innocent XI by Guidi can be found in the collection of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The Warsaw bust belongs to a series of portraits of popes which the Odescalchi family commissioned from Domenico Guidi in the 1690s. Compared to that example, the present bust is far more dramatic, with deeper cut lines and a more precise expression. It is likely that the present piece was seen by the Odescalchi family, who ordered a similar one to be made. The piece was almost certainly intended to be displayed in a niche, given its dramatic cutting and its roughly carved back. Others of Guidi’s busts can be found in important collections throughout Italy, England and the United States, though many of these are lesser bronze repetitions. A bronze bust of the Pope Alexander VIII by Guidi is currently in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), while a terracotta version of the same is in the Los Angeles County Museum. A bronze of Pope Alexander VIII can be found in the Princely Collection of Lichtenstein, and his impressive marble papal bust of Clement IX graces the pope’s tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore. The present bust of Pope...

A bronze portrait of Sir Winston Churchill by Rufus Martin, 2023 This head and shoulders bronze bust is instantly recognizable as Sir Winston Churchill. He is wearing a British Warm greatcoat with epaulettes and has a half-smoked cigar in the left hand resting on his hip. His right hand is raised in his trade mark V-for-Victory salute. Signed ‘Rufus Martin 1/12’. Sir Winston Churchill (1874 –1965) was a British politician, army officer and writer. He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, when he led Britain to victory in the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill represented five constituencies during his career as a Member of Parliament. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, for most of his career he was a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955, but from 1904 to 1924 was a member of the Liberal Party. This portrait of Churchill by Rufus Martin is striking for its juxtaposition of this famous historical subject and the free and contemporary choice of presentation. Churchill’s tenure during the Second World War infused the nation with calm and confidence, providing the British people with strong leadership during its darkest hours. Martin succeeds in portraying Churchill’s unshakeable belief in a successful outcome for the Allies through his defiant stance, unwavering gaze and Victory V gesture. Together with the recognizable “Bulldog” facial features and broad shoulders, this bust captures the subject in terms of character as well as being an accurate physical portrait . Rufus Martin trained at Wimbledon College of the Arts, London, though his aptitude for 3D design and sculpture was apparent from a very young age. His mother, a portrait painter, showed him the portrait sculptures of Augusta Savage, Jacob Epstein and Augustine Rodin, which inspired him to create a bust of his late mentor, Michael Howells. He sculpts ‘intriguing individuals, always hoping to capture some element of their past or current struggles and to create something for the good of the community they inhabit and wherever possible for posterity’ – an ambition he has most successfully fulfilled with this powerful portrait. After leaving college in 2017, with first class honours, Martin has won many prestigious prizes including the Tiranti Prize at the FACE, the Signature Art Award, the Chelsea Arts Club show for ‘Amy’, the True Blue Show, the Salmagundi Open Show, New York, Green & Stone Summer Show, the Chelsea Arts Society Summer Show, RBA Rising Stars, the Royal Cambrian Academy Open, the Binny Mathews & Sons joint show, The Next Big Thing and has been published in the Kings House...

Detailed bronze bust, sculpture of a man, by Felix Georg Pfeifer, 1929 Felix Georg Pfeifer (born November 9, 1871 in Leipzig; died March 6, 1945 there) w...