A bronze maquette (or 3-D study) for the sculpture Draped Reclining Figure by Henry Moore (British, 1898-1986) sailed past its high estimate figure of $150,000 to finish at $195,500 in Cottone Auctions’ annual Fine Arts & Antiques Auction, held March 25th online and at Cottone’s gallery in Geneseo. It was the top lot in a sale that grossed right around $2.1 million.
Henry Moore was born the son of a coal miner but he rose to prominence with his semi-abstract, monumental bronze sculptures that today are located around the world as public works of art. His forms are often abstractions of the human body, typically depicting mother-and-child or reclining figures (Draped Reclining Figure being in the latter). Many are suggestive of the female body.
The maquette was one of many fine items up for bid that came from the Seymour H. Knox Collection out of Buffalo. The collection co-headlined the auction along with items from the Strong Museum in Rochester, the Rochester Museum & Science Center and the Everson Museum in Syracuse (all in New York). Also sold was a major collection from Westbury, N.Y.
Seymour H. Knox, Jr. (American, 1898-1990) was known as “the dean of American art patrons.” After graduating from Yale in 1920, he directed several prominent corporations, including Marine Midland Bank, the F.W. Woolworth Company, the New York Central Railroad and the American Steamship Company, all the while dedicating himself to the acquisition of fine art.
Shortly after being elected president of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy Board in 1938, Mr. Knox and other members of his family provided inaugural donations for the “Room of Contemporary Art” at what is now the Albright-Knox Museum. This resulted in the acquisition of masterworks by Henry Moore, Cezanne, Leger, Matisse, Joan Miro, Modigliani, Picasso and Chaim Soutine.
