Richard MacDonald (American, b. 1946), Viktor Kee Bust, Life

2007, patinated bronze, edition numbered "29/30" and signed in the casting, mounted upon a tiered polished stone swivel base. Included with the Lot is a custom wood crate.

25 1/2 x 20 x 13 in.; crate 33 x 25 x 20 in.

Private Collection, Chapel Hill and Greensboro, North Carolina

Much like Marc Chagall, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Alexander Calder, and others working in fin-de-siècle Paris, Richard MacDonald draws artistic inspiration from watching performers and dancers in the circus. His fascination with and close observation of the performers in the Cirque du Soleil is displayed in his Cirque Series. MacDonald has sculpted several works from life in collaboration with renowned Ukrainian dancer and juggler, Viktor Kee. MacDonald met Viktor during the opening ceremony to Cirque’s National Tour in 2000. Viktor Kee Bust portrays a striking likeness to the subject, and speaks to our innate interest in the concept of the individual and our desire for immortality. Since antiquity, the portrait bust has been used to celebrate individuals of exceptional achievement, and for Richard MacDonald, creating a bust of his friend, Viktor Kee, was the artist’s way of paying tribute to the celebrated artist.

Born in Pasadena, California, MacDonald graduated from Art Center College where he was classically trained. He then became a self-taught sculptor and spent the last 50 years reviving the lost art of figurative sculpture through innovation, passion, and intense commitment. An illustrious career with many awards, honors, and public monuments has resulted in an extensive body of unique works in bronze, including a monumental 26-foot-tall bronze, Flair Across America, that was installed in Centennial Park, Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic Games. Now based in his Monterey studio, MacDonald has established himself as one of the leading figures in contemporary sculpture. He has his own foundry where he has control over the quality of his sculpture and is represented by Dawson Cole Fine Art.

Good estate condition; crate with areas of surface wear but likely usable.