Richmond Barthé (American/Mississippi, 1901-1989), "Male Nude",bronze, signed and incised "Modern Art Fdry NY" on self-base, h. 9 1/4 in., w. 2 1/2 in., w. 2 1/2 in Provenance: Collection of Noted Preservationist and Aesthete Dorian M. Bennett, New Orleans. Note: Harlem Renaissance sculptor Richmond Barthé was born and raised in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. His Catholic upbringing and the scenic Gulf coast provided early inspiration for his childhood artistic pursuits. With only a middle school education, Barthé accepted a position as a houseboy in New Orleans at the age of fourteen, where he was supported in his art by both the family who employed him and his surrounding community. After Barthé donated two oil paintings to his church, the parish priest raised funds in 1924 for Barthé to enroll at the Art Institute in Chicago, one of only two art schools that accepted African American students at the time. Upon graduation from the Art Institute in 1929, Barthé moved to New York, where he established a studio in Harlem. Immersing himself in the cultural renaissance flourishing there, Barthé developed a reputation among scholars of the New Negro Movement, including Alain Locke, who became a passionate collector and promoter of his work, as well as Langston Hughes. Barthé believed that if an artist considered how an object felt, rather than how it looked, then his hands could execute the sculpture with little interference from the conscious mind. As a homosexual African American man, Barthé maintained an openness to studying people of all races, creeds and demographics. Eager to understand the nature of societies and the people who function within them, Barthé sought to capture the spiritual essence of his subjects. He is best known for the allegorical and genre figures he executed during the 1930s and 1940s, subjects inspired by his Christian faith, interest in African lore, and fascination with theatre and dance. During these decades, Barthé was the only African American sculptor for whom the male nude was a focus. These important figures initially appear to fall within the tradition of realism, but their elongated and sometimes distorted forms lend an expressionist quality, as seen in the bronze offered here. Ref.: "Barthé, Richmond (1901-1989)." The Johnson Collection. www.thejohnsoncollection.org. Accessed July 27, 2020