This is a Sketch Head made
by Duane Hanson for the "Fund Raiser" sculpture created
in 1980
This finely detailed and life-like head is made
of polyvinyl polychromed in oil.
This head was made as a
sketch head for that sculpture, and is the same in nearly all ways.
The woman is wearing glasses, just as in the finished sculpture,
and she is wearing a scarf.
The gentleman selling this piece is the
original owner, to whom it was gifted in 1983-1984. This Duane Hanson
Sketch Head was a gift of the artist to a gentleman living, at the
time, in Palm Beach County, Florida, where the artist also resided.
For 21 years, this gentleman ran the Palm Beach County Cultural
Coucil, and had the priviledge of meeting Duane Hanson in his studio
a number of times. On his third visit to the studio, in around 1983-1984,
he commented on the sketch heads which were at the time lined up
on a table. The heads were similar to one another except for the
flesh tones, which Duane Hanson was experimenting with.
Duane Hanson then took one of the sketch
heads, placed it in a shopping bag, and gave it to him. This gentleman
has possessed this sketch head since that time, and has been photographed
with it on numerous occasions in local newspapers such as the Palm
Beach Post and the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. It was always kept
in his office at the Cultural Council, and when he left there in
2003, he took it with him. At this point, he is moving to another
state, to a Victorian Period house, and this sketch head would not
fit in with the decor of his new home. Consequently, he has decided
to sell it.
This auction includes the book by Kirk Varnedoe
titled Duane Hanson. The life size polyvinyl statue for which this
head was made is pictured in this book. This head measures
13" tall
*This item is listed at $60,000.00*