- Artist
- John Doubleday born 1947
- Medium
- Bronze
- Dimensions
- Object: 270 × 130 × 70 mm
- Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Transferred from the Victoria & Albert Museum 1983
- Reference
- T03722
Catalogue entry
T03722 Maquette for ‘Building Blocks’ 1964
Bronze 10 5/8 × 5 1/8 × 2 3/4 (270 × 130 × 70)
Inscribed ‘Doubleday 1967’ on reverse
Transferred from the Victoria and Albert Museum 1983
Prov: Purchased from the artist by William Gates, who gave it to the Victoria and Albert Museum 1979 (A. 26–1979)
This is an early work by Doubleday, which is not characteristic of his later development, and was his first submission for a commissioned work.
The artist wrote (letter of 29 October 1984):
It is a unique cast from a wax original, and it was cast by Mr Reginald Davies, who, at the time, undertook a small amount of bronze casting and moulding having retired from the running of his foundry.
It was made in 1964 as a submission for a sculpture at Glossop Centre, Derbyshire. I was commissioned to do a full-scale work, about 5 ft. in height in a combination of resin and hard wood. I have no record of the work being exhibited... It was bought by Mr Gates from me direct, subsequent to his acquisition of the drawings which related to it. The original idea for the piece was based on reference to the building where the full-scale work was to be sited. The vertical nature of the piece has an optional reference... to the upward and growing nature of the educative process on to which are bound the horizontal element of the individual, or subjective opportunity represented by a squarish male and a receptive form that could be seen as female.
Published in:
The Tate Gallery 1982-84: Illustrated Catalogue of Acquisitions, London 1986
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