Lot 109: ALFRED DRURY

ALFRED DRURY BRITISH 1856 - 1944 THE AGE OF INNOCENCE Signed and dated: A.DRURY. R.A. 1914. white marble on a white onyx base 70.5cm., 27¾in.

Alfred Drury's bust of The Age of Innocence first appeared in bronze at the Royal Academy in 1897. The features are those of Gracie Doncaster, whose sister Clarrie's face is seen on Drury's figures of Morning and Evening in City Square, Leeds. The Age of Innocence followed Drury's ideal busts of Agnes and Griselda which had heralded a new direction in the sculptor's art, moving on from the influence of Drury's French teacher Aimé-Jules Dalou. These ideal busts aligned Drury's works with the spirit of British New Sculpture, and in particular with the work of his contemporary George Frampton. The busts were extremely popular and Spielmann notes that when an edition of The Age of Innocence was produced 'a very considerable number were bought up at once.' The present bust is a particularly fine and rare example of the model in marble. The date of 1914, the year the Great War was declared, gives the subject a particular poignancy, as the age of innocence came to an end.

RELATED LITERATURE
A. Baldry, 'Our Rising Artists: Alfred Drury, Sculptor', The Magazine of Art, 1898, pp.442-5; A. Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors, London, 1905, p. 378; S. Beattie, The New Sculpture, London, 1983, p. 242; M. Spielmann, British Sculpture and Sculptors of Today, London, 1901, pp. 109-15