A Sculptor of Distinction
20th December 2023
Described by John Skeaping as “to my mind the best sculptor of animals to make an appearance this century”, Jonathan Kenworthy’s talents have been recognised across the world.
Four of his dynamic and characteristic bronzes featured in the Modern British and 20th Century Art auction at Woolley and Wallis on 13th December, where they sold for over £40,000.
Kenworthy studied under Skeaping from the age 11 and was awarded the Gold Medal and Travelling Scholarship for Sculpture in 1965 – he remains the youngest recipient of the prestigious award to this day.
“Kenworthy travelled widely in Africa, where he also studied, and two of the works we were pleased to include were directly inspired by the safari adventures he so enjoyed,” said specialist, Victor Fauvelle. “The Seated Tigress is a beautiful portrait of that phenomenal animal, but it is The Migration which embodies the character and movement in his work. The depiction of the seasonal stampede is so vivid that you can almost hear the hooves thundering across the Savanna.”
Seated Tigress sold for £13,860, while The Migration fetched £10,080. But it was Kenworthy’s 2003 bronze of Girls out Walking – Kabul which really exceeded expectations; flying over its £4,000-6,000 estimate to reach £13,860.
“Kenworthy first visited Afghanistan in 1977, and continued to use the people of the area as a source of inspiration,” continued Fauvelle. “A 2002 exhibition for the Gerald Peters Gallery in New York included a series of bronzes of Afghan women, similar to the one sold here. These have risen in popularity recently and we saw some fierce competition on the day.”
The four bronzes sold on 13th December for a premium-inclusive total of £42,840 as part of the Modern British and 20th Century Art auction. Other notable lots in the auction included a bronze owl by Geoffrey Dashwood at £11,970, John Nash’s Winter in a Beechwood at £75,600 and George Leslie Hunter’s Mill Dam, Fife at £50,400.
