Emile Antoine Bourdelle (the artist) 
Mme Bourdelle (the artist’s wife, inherited from the above in 1929) 
Fanny S. Chipman, USA (the sitter, a gift from the above on the occasion of her wedding)
Private Collection, USA (by descent from the above) 
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Antoine Bourdelle, passeur de la modernité (exhibition catalogue), Bucarest, Musée National d'Art de Roumanie, 2006
Antoine Bourdelle - 1861-1929 - D’un siècle à l’autre : l’eurythmie de la modernité (exhibition catalogue), Kitakyushu, Kitakyhushu Municipal Museum of Art (& travelling in Japan), 2007

Attractive golden patina. There is some wear to the patina to the protruding edges and around the base, consistent with age and handling. There are visible seam lines from the mould, inherent to the artist's process. There is some dust in the crevices. This work is in overall good condition.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

At the end of the First World War, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle accepted a commission to create a sculpture in commemoration of the 1917 entry of the United States into the conflict. Bourdelle’s creation was La France, a magnificent representation of France in the guise of Pallas Athena, Greek goddess of war: she stands unflinching, scrutinising the horizon in proud anticipation of the arrival of reinforcements.

La France was originally intended to be positioned at La Pointe de Grave, where the American troops had initially landed, together with a new lighthouse (hence the inscription Pointe de Grave on the bust). However, the lighthouse was in fact destroꦫyed during the German occupation of France during the Second World War and the intended location for the sculpture was never realised. Instead the 9-metre sculpture was erected outside of the Grand Palais for the 1925 Éxposition des Arts Décoratifs. From here, at the request of Maurice Petsche, the Under Secretary o🎀f State for the Arts and the Parliamentary Deputy for Briançon, it was established permanently in Briançon as the town’s magnificent war memorial.   

The present work is the artist’s preliminary sketch for the head of La France. Emile-Antoine Bourdelle modelled the facial features of his sculpture on his beloved niece, Fanny S. Chipman (née Bunand-Sevastos). Bourdelle often used those around him as models for his work, and Fanny was of particular choice on this occasion for her classical features.ܫ Fanny would later marry Foreign Service Officer Norris Chipman and move to America, howeꦜver, she never forgot the strong bond she had forged with her Uncle and in an interview in 1987 as part of a study on the spouses of Foreign servicemen, she fondly recalled their particular connection: “I was like a second daughter. In fact, he wanted to adopt me, but my mother didn’t [agree], so that was that. I think he always felt there was a special rapport between his wife, himself and myself which didn’t so much exist in my own family.”

Bourdelle was immensely proud of La France and considered it his greatest sculptural achievement. He chose to keep this particular bust in his personal collection at home, where it remained treasured until his death in 1929. On the occasion of Fanny S. Shipman’s marriage in 1935, Bourdelle’s widow gave her this bust in recognitio🐟n of their close relationship and Fanny’s integral role as model in the work’s accomplishment.