catalog text
BRONZE SCULPTURE OF "MUTUAL SURPRISE" BY EDWIN WILLARD DEMING
Signed to edge "COPYRIGHT 1907 BY EW DEMING" & "Roman Bronze Works N.Y."
Item # 912IUT09
A humorous look at the gentler side of nature, this rare and exceptional work depicts a young bear cup surprised when crossing paths with a snapping turtle. Undaunted by the size difference, the turtle's rearing head strains its neck with muscles and tendons pulling beneath the taught skin while the awkward young bear takes a step back. A departure from his more savage scenes of nature and survival, this is a work that captures Deming's affection for the wilderness completely. It almost seems to be a continuation of his 1905 cast "Bear and Tortoise" where a young bear touches a tortoise with his paw.
The exact same model is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is a fine model that is very rarely available on the open market.
Literature & Further Reading:
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 08.69
- Bronzes of the American West, Patricia Janis Broder, p. 60-61, pl. 55
- American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Volume I: A Catalogue of Works by Artists born before 1865, Thayer Tollis editor, 1999, p. 373
Measurements: 9 1/2" H x 8" W x 3 1/2" D
Condition Report:
Excellent original condition, no flaws.