42 - after Libero Andreotti,

after Libero Andreotti, Italian 1875-1933 - Due Sirene (Two Mermaids), conceived 1931 and cast c.1978; lost wax bronze cast, signed and dated on the base of one sculpture 'L. ANDREOTTI / FIRENZE / 1931', signed with monogram and numbered on right side of each base 'AL 4/8, each H157 x W63 x D45 cm (2) Provenance: Raymond Clark Gray; Private collection, Paris; with Martin du Louvre, Paris; Private Collection, purchased from the above on 25th October 2012 (according to a copy of the original invoice) Provenance for the original plasters: Atelier of the Artist; The Motonave Victoria, Cantiere di San Marco di Trieste; The Italian Regia Marina; The Italian Consulate to the United States; Robert Allerton, purchased from the above, circa 1940, with reproduction rights. First set of bronze casts made for Allerton’s property in Hawaii; Conrad Hilton and Zsa Zsa Gabor Note: in 1931, Art Deco sculptor Libero Andreotti fashioned two elegant mermaids in plaster for the dining room of the Italian luxury liner, Motonave Victoria. Following the ship’s requisitioning by the Italian navy as a war vessel during World War II, the plasters were later acquired by Robert Allerton, son and heir of First National Bank of Chicago founder, Samuel Allerton. In the mid-1940s, the plasters were acquired by Conrad Hilton and Zsa Zsa Gabor, and were subsequently purchased by the interior decorator Raymond Clark Gray, who had a small number of additional bronze casts made from the original plasters, including the present set. Bearing large vases decorated with dolphins and Poseidon, these elongated mermaids descend from the sirens of Greco-Roman legend, who bewitched sailors with their beautiful song. Such subjects especially appealed to Andreotti, whose style also reflects the classical tradition in its restrained expression, harmonious proportions and idealized shapes.