Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 17

Colin Webster Watson
New Zealand Modernist Abstract Bronze Maori Head Sculpture Colin Webster Watson

1967

$6,500
£4,902.68
€5,662.64
CA$9,106.95
A$10,126.40
CHF 5,301.35
MX$123,695.91
NOK 66,616.75
SEK 62,666.40
DKK 42,271.24

About the Item

Colin Webster-Watson (1926, Palmerston North, New Zealand – 2007, Eastbourne) Sculpture portrait of a head, This appears to be a native New Zealander, A Maori Warrior. It is not numbered and might be unique. A wonderful abstract almost Cubist cast bronze hand signed and dated in the cast. Colin Webster-Watson (1926, Palmerston North, New Zealand – 2007, Eastbourne) was a New Zealand artist, sculptor and poet. Webster-Watson (he hyphenated his name later in life) grew up in Palmerston North, where he attended Palmerston North Boys' High School. At the age of twenty, he traveled to Japan with the Commonwealth Occupation Force. While in Japan, his army superiors deemed that he would be better employed as an entertainer than a soldier, and gave him the responsibility to organise concerts for the troops. In 1954, Webster-Watson moved to London to become a dancer and comedian at the Windmill Theatre. His milieu was theatre. He performed regularly with the Palmerston North Operatic Society and the Manawatu Repertory company. For a time, he also worked as a radio sports reporter in Wales. Following the death of his father in 1960, Webster-Watson suffered a breakdown and moved to Italy. It was while running an orphanage in Alberobello that he discovered his love of sculpture and soon after established a studio in Rome. Hie oeuvre includes sinuous biomorphic nude, animal and mythological bronze and marble sculpture. Through an acquaintance he met Bice (Beatrice), "one of Rome's leading sculptresses" and became her pupil. Colin's bronze creations and his skills at self-promotion brought buyers flocking to his exhibitions, including celebrities of the era: movie stars Debbie Reynolds, Carroll Baker and Gloria Swanson; author Harold Robbins (whose letter of endorsement Colin had framed); Morris West, Robert Ardrey, Harold Robbins and Henry Rothschild. His work also graced the collection of Jacqueline Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis, Sarah Churchill, sometime actress and daughter of Winston Churchill, with whom he was said to have had a long romantic relationship. Webster-Watson married New York socialite, Jane Ewing, whom he married and led a sociable, flamboyant life with, in the historic, well-heeled village of Wainscott on Long Island. In 1990, he moved to Palm Springs, California, where he lived until 2004 when he returned to New Zealand. Webster-Watson donated several works to Wellington including Tail of the Whale (Oriental Bay), Frenzy (Ōwhiro Bay), Prowling Cheetah (Wellington Zoo), Mountain of Dreams (Wellington Zoo), La Famiglia (Wellington Hospital). Colin returned to New Zealand in 2004, welcomed by family and old friends. Settling in Wellington's Eastbourne with his beloved Pekinese dog Andrew, he lived out his last few years travelling and entertaining guests with his legendary cooking and anecdotes. He'd also written hundreds of poems over the years; these would be condensed into a posthumous book, Natural Zoo, by his niece Anne Manchester and writer Mary McCallum. Colin donated his rose marble Prodigal Son sculpture to Palmerston North ("because I'm the prodigal son," he joked). It's installed in the city council's customer service centre, placed – as he wished – to be looked at closely, from all angles. Colin died in 2007. Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand, also known as Aotearoa. They arrived in New Zealand from Polynesia via waka (canoes) centuries ago, developing a unique culture deeply connected to the land, their ancestors, and traditions. Today, they constitute a significant part of New Zealand's population and continue to play a vital role in shaping the country's identity.
  • Creator:
    Colin Webster Watson (1926 - 2007, New Zealander)
  • Creation Year:
    1967
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 11 in (27.94 cm)Width: 10.5 in (26.67 cm)Depth: 10 in (25.4 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Minor wear. please see photos.
  • Gallery Location:
    Surfside, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU38216641162

More From This Seller

View All
Untitled, Head Of An Artist, Avant-Garde Bronze Sculpture
By Phillip Pavia
Located in Surfside, FL
This is a bronze cast sculpture by Philip Pavia is part of his series of "Imaginary Portraits from the Club" , a one-man exhibition at Max Protetch Gallery, New York in 1982. The approach at rendering the figure is grotesque, and the facial features have been severely distorted to the point were the portrait becomes an abstract interpretation of the subject. As an artist and writer, Philip Pavia was a committed member of the Abstract Art community throughout his long, distinguished career. Pavia was active in the art world until his death in 2005 and received immense critical praise for his artistic and literary contributions. Recognized for his signature work The Ides of March...
Category

20th Century Abstract Expressionist Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Rare Cast Painted Bronze Head Sculpture British Realist Sculptor John Davies
Located in Surfside, FL
John Davies (Cheshire, 1946), British sculptor. Bronze sculpture head Unique cast (1/1) This was shown at Marlborough Fine Art (London) Ltd in a show called John Davies New Sculpt...
Category

1990s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Bronze Modernist Biomorphic Sculpture Horse, Stand Colin Webster Watson Art Deco
Located in Surfside, FL
Colin Webster Watson (1926-2007, New Zealand), sleeping horse, sculpture, bronze, supported on wooden base, signed, AP Sculpture Of A Suspended Horse Colin Webster-Watson (1926, Pa...
Category

1970s Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Small Bronze Sculpture Cast Head After Rodin "Petite tete au nez retrousse"
By Auguste Rodin
Located in Surfside, FL
(after) Auguste Rodin Posthumous cast "Petite tete au nez retroussé" Featuring a bust of a woman. Limited edition bronze is mounted on a marble base and is signed on the lower right. Great detail. Dimensions: approx. 7-1/4" tall x 5" across x 5" deep with base Foundry mark on the reverse, #13 of 299 produced. François Auguste René Rodin (1840 – 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, and deeply pocketed surface in clay. He is known for such sculptures as The Thinker, Monument to Balzac, The Kiss, The Burghers of Calais, and The Gates of Hell. He modeled the human body with naturalism, and his sculptures celebrate individual character and physicality. Although Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, he refused to change his style, and his continued output brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community. Rodin became the preeminent French sculptor of his time. By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Rodin's work after his World's Fair exhibit, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. His student, Camille Claudel, became his associate, lover, and creative rival. Rodin's other students included Antoine Bourdelle, Constantin Brancusi, and Charles Despiau. Rodin entered the studio of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, a successful mass producer of objets d'art. Rodin worked as Carrier-Belleuse' chief assistant until 1870, designing roof decorations and staircase and doorway embellishments. With the arrival of the Franco-Prussian War, Rodin was called to serve in the French National Guard, but his service was brief due to his near-sightedness. Rodin took classes with animal sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye. The teacher's attention to detail and his finely rendered musculature of animals in motion significantly influenced Rodin. Rodin won the 1880 commission to create a portal for a planned museum of decorative arts. Rodin dedicated much of the next four decades to his elaborate Gates of Hell, an unfinished portal for a museum that was never built. Many of the portal's figures became sculptures in themselves, including Rodin's most famous, The Thinker and The Kiss. With the museum commission came a free studio, granting Rodin a new level of artistic freedom. By 1900, Rodin's artistic reputation was established. Gaining exposure from a pavilion of his artwork set up near the 1900 World's Fair (Exposition Universelle) in Paris, he received requests to make busts of prominent people internationally, As Rodin's fame grew, he attracted many followers, including the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and authors Octave Mirbeau, Joris-Karl Huysmans, and Oscar Wilde. Rodin and Beuret's modest country estate in Meudon, purchased in 1897, was a host to such guests as King Edward, dancer Isadora Duncan, and harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. He left Beuret in Meudon and began an affair with the American-born Duchesse de Choiseul. From 1910, he mentored the Russian sculptor, Moissey Kogan...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Large Bronze Sculpture Woman Head, After Modigliani, Ruth Bloch Israeli Artist
By Ruth Bloch
Located in Surfside, FL
Ruth Bloch (b. 1951) Head of a woman (After Modigliani) Bronze with patina Edition: 3/9 Hand etched signature and edition near base: R Bloch (titled by the artist as "Inspired by Mod...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Vintage 1967 1970 Modernist Maquette Chicago Picasso Cubist Sculpture Head Metal
By (after) Pablo Picasso
Located in Surfside, FL
This is a model of the large Picasso sculpture in Chicago it is a vintage piece. it is marked 1967 and was made for the Chicago Public Building Commission (it is also marked Handigu...
Category

1960s Modern Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal

You May Also Like

Mid Century Abstract Face Bronze Sculpture by Jean Robert Ipousteguy
By Jean-Robert Ipoustéguy
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Bronze abstract face sculpture by Jean-Robert Ipoustéguy (January 6, 1920 – February 8, 2006, a figurative French sculptor.. Signed on back underside Ipoustegy '66 2/9. I'm many museum and public art collections such as: Abu Dhabi, National Museum of Saadiyat Island. Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art. Berlin, Nationalgalerie. Bobigny, Fonds Départemental d’Art Contemporain. Cambridge, Massachusetts, US (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT) — Cénotaphe (1957)[8] Châlons en Champagne, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie. Chicago, Art Institute. Copenhagen, Carlsberg Glyptotek. Darmstadt, Hessiches Landesmuseum. Dun sur Meuse, Centre Ipoustéguy Evanston, Illinois, Mary and Leigh...
Category

Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Sculpted Stoneware Face Sculpture by James Kouretas
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Beautiful hand carved stoneware face sculpture by James Kouretas. Sculpture has 2 holes in the back most likely for hanging on the wall or could be dis...
Category

Vintage 1970s American Modern Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stoneware

1980 Italy Bronze Abstract Sculpture by Piero Perin Testa Head
Located in Brescia, IT
This artwork was created by the Italian artist Piero Perin. Piero Perin was born in 1924, in Cervarese, near Padua Italy. He lived and worked in Padova where he teached at the School...
Category

Late 20th Century Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Face, Bronze Sculpture by Contemporary Indian Artist "In Stock"
By Subrata Biswas
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Subrata Biswas - Untitled - 6.5 x 4.5 x 4 Inches Bronze Sculpture Subrata Biswas’s three sculptures ‘Think Green’, ‘Amigo’ and ‘City Bred’ a conscious selection of elements of folk ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Face, Bronze Sculpture by Contemporary Indian Artist "In Stock"
By Subrata Biswas
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Subrata Biswas - Untitled - 7.5 x 5 x 5 Inches Bronze Sculpture Subrata Biswas’s three sculptures ‘Think Green’, ‘Amigo’ and ‘City Bred’ a conscious selection of elements of folk fo...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

1980 Italy Bronze Abstract Sculpture Piero Perin Testa Head
Located in Brescia, IT
This artwork was created by the Italian artist Piero Perin. Piero Perin was born in 1924, in Cervarese, near Padua Italy. He lived and worked in Padova where he teached at the School...
Category

Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Bronze