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Old 11-25-2013, 11:31 PM
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CarltonHendricks CarltonHendricks is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by perezfan View Post
Nice addition Carlton... I agree that the aged patina looks best

But what the heck took you so long?? This one is much easier than all those other incredible statues and trophies you have displayed alongside.

What's the story behind the two taller statues with marble bases? They are also the ones shown on either side of your webpage logo. Never seen any others besides yours (and have always admired them lots). Any info on those is much appreciated!

Mark
 photo Stitch_zps21970796.jpg

Well those two statues are a story unto themselves....and there is a lot I don't know about them...but would like too....and really I should do a comprehensive story on them...which would likely require travel to eastern museums and libraries....First of all the two you see in my collection are not originals...The ones above are originals..I've had my pair quite a while and they aren't common...I wouldn't quite term then as modern...but they are not 19th century casts in my opinion...I do have an original of the one with his hands in the air...but it's not on a marble base...

Anyway....here's what I do know about them...Although they look like a matched pair...they are actually by two different 19th century American sculptors...The one with his hands in the air is by Jonathan Scott Hartley (1845-1912)...while the other is by Henry Kirke Bush-Brown (1857-1935)...both noted American sculptors..

Now the reason I would like to do deep research is....the one with his hands down is not signed...So I'm saying it's by Henry Kirke Bush-Brown only because I've read it over the years and it seems to be generally accepted...only I've never actually seen documentation from the period to substantiate it....It probably is by him....I would just like to see the proof...the one with his hands in the air is signed..with the foundry. the original one that I have states verbatim: "The Henry Bonnard Bronze Co. N.Y. 1886 J.S. Hartley Sculptor NY Copyrighted"

Another reason I want to research them sometime is why are they so similar...Did the two sculptors know each other? Did they intentionally make them to be a matching pair?......That's always been very curious to me...In my subjective opinion I've always considered them the quintessential 19th century baseball sculpture....Partly I guess because they look like a matched pair. I was offered a pair of originals a year or two ago for about $11,000.00 if I recall right...but didn't want to spend the money.

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