Albéric collin · (1886–1962)

Walking African Elephant

Technical sheet

ARTIST Albéric Collin
DATE ca. 1918-1921
MATerial Bronze • Lost-wax cast by the Valsuani foundry
DIMENSIONS 66,5 x 84 x 40 cm
 Signature Albéric Collin • Foundry stamp : C. Valsuani Cire perdue
 PROVENANCE Acquired directly from the artist and kept within the same family for four generations
CONSERVATION  Private Collection • Europe
about the work

This rare early twentieth-century bronze of a walking elephant ranks, without question, among the most important pieces in Albéric Collin’s oeuvre. Its imposing dimensions — 66.5 cm high, 84 cm long, 40 cm wide — make it, by the standard of his output, a particularly sought-after work on the market.

The lost-wax cast by the Valsuani foundry is of the highest quality, and the patina, subtly blending green with light and dark brown, enhances the sculpture beautifully. Its state of preservation is impeccable, and the piece is documented from its production through to its present presentation.

According to the artist’s archives, the work was to have been issued in an edition of seven; only two were ultimately produced, between 1918 and 1921. Neither the plaster nor the second cast has reappeared on the market since their sale. Having remained in the same family for four generations.

the ARTIST

Albéric collin

Antwerp, 1886 — 1962

Dromedary by Albéric collin →

Born in Antwerp on 6 April 1886 to a Flemish mother and a Liégeois father, Albéric Collin trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. A member of the Antwerp group, he frequented the city’s zoological garden, an inexhaustible source of inspiration, where he abandoned the human figure to study animals. There he met Rembrandt Bugatti, whose friendship and counsel would leave a lasting mark on his art.

From 1920 he exhibited in Belgium, France and Spain; his dromedary earned an honorary medal at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1922. Regarded as one of the greatest Belgian animalier sculptors of the twentieth century, he left a legacy now considered part of Belgium’s foremost national heritage.

full biography →