William Turnbull

Waddington Galleries, London, 14 May 1986

Amanda A. Davidson, The Sculpture of William Turnbull, Aldershot, 2005, no.225, illustrated p.162

The following condition report has been prepared by Nancy Wilden of Plowden & Smith Ltd, London. The overall appearance of the surface of the sculpture has a slightly textured look with a very low sheen. The colour is a mottled dark-mid green/white. The whiter areas are possibly a bloomed wax coating and the green areas probably where the wax has worn to reveal patinated bronze. These more 'worn' areas are mainly on the protruding parts of the sculpture, and therefore more likely to have been handled more in these areas as well as being the more obviously vulnerable parts of this piece. The white surface is removed extremely easily - to reveal the dark green of the patinated bronze underneath. Reverse (with bulge): Top area of front bulge is marked with a dark green 'scratch' in the surface of the wax. This may have been rubbed to try to improve the appearance but remains as a green mark shinier than the surrounding area. Front: The reverse shows scratches in the wax surface. This may be due to the sculpture having been lifted and rubbings against buttons or fastenings of clothing. These show as dark green marks shinier than the surrounding area. Sides: These are more worn (darker green) probably due to these areas being handled when the sculpture has been lifted. Proper right: Small areas of bright bronze revealed possibly due to repeated rubbings whilst in storage or transit. Proper left: Long dark green scratch in wax surface on upper slim part of sculpture. Top: The surface is dark green probably due to being touched or handled. There are heavy scratches which do not look recent and which have probably blended into the surface with wax over t.mes . There is no actual damage to the sculpture itself except to the small area of bronze on the proper-right side. The other 'scratches' are surface damage only and it would probably be relatively straightforward to remedy this. When handling or touching the object, it is recommended that the courier wear soft cotton gloves. The sculpture should be protected before lifting or moving. The object was examined under natural daylight with use of optivisors.
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Suggestive both of a fertility figurine and a primitive tool, Leda not only reveals Turnbull’s interest in sculpture as metamorphosis but also his curiosity with ancient civilisations, in turn becoming a sculpture that is forged from the tension between balanced simplistic forms and a deeply filled content.

Totemic, feminine and commanding Leda finds its roots in history, influenced by both Classical and Cycladic forms. The title, Leda, is suggestive of Ancient Greek mythology; Leda, daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius was seduced by Zeus in the guise of a swan. Although influenced by historic forms and figures, Turbull does not attempt to imitate tradition, but rather creates a new object that conveys a sense of mystery, ritual and awe. Drawn to the pots and oddments one finds in ethnographic museums, Turnbull’s Leda demonstrates an almost Primitive aspect, resembling an arrow-head, or a sort of Mesolithic borer, a tool used for working leather and wood. By eluding a single interpretation, the work opens a dialogue and impels the viewer to consider and participate in the active reception of the piece.

In contrast to the Renaissance tradition, continued by sculptors such as Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, in which the sculpture unfolds itself as the viewer walks around it, this almost flattened work harks back to Archaic Greek and Ancient Egyptian sculpture once again. Turnbull, like Giacometti, whom he met in Paris in the late 1940s, was more concerned with establishing an arresting, frontal image, one which dominates space and radiates into it. Leda carves its way through the air, its stance liberated from mass, transmitting a sort of elemental energy.