DOI article:
Reddie, Arthur: Albert Toft: Sculptor
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21214#0033
Albert Toft, Sculptor
of inspiration; and in The Meta^ Pourer (Royal
Academy, 1915) and Mother and Child the
sculptor shows his sympathy with those who
toil, a feeling akin to that which prompted the
noble works of Millet, and which finds its ex-
pression in the art of the Belgian Meunier and
Brangwyn. To the latter such a powerful
sketch as this little Metal Pourer would surely
appeal, and it is not surprising to learn that
he, as well as other brother artists, has pur-
chased a replica. The sculptor must have
been keenly conscious as he vigorously modelled
this tensely straining figure, of the heat, the
sweat, and the toil of the whole life of this work-
man, which is so fervently epitomised in his
momentary action. It is a work of pure in-
spiration, wrought, one imagines, rapidly in the
white heat of enthusiasm, and, to quote Mr.
Toft’s own words from his excellent manual
for students, “ Modelling and Sculpture,” it
reminds us that “ there is in all creative art a
pleasure, almost a rapture, which is in itself
one of the most exquisite delights given to
man, the sense of having accomplished worthy
work.”
One cannot do better, in concluding this brief
notice, than quote a further passage from the same
source, for here may be found summed up what
“the metal pourer”
BRONZE STATUETTE BY ALBERT TOP f
Rome in 1911. Beautiful,
too, and very characteristic
is the marble head, repro-
duced on p. 24. Simplicity
of form, graceful poise of
the head, the light and
delicate suggestion of the
hair—all is in keeping with
the beauty of the material,
and we do not think we
exaggerate in saying that
here, indeed, in this pensive
head Mr. Toft has made the
marble live. One of his
most important figures (illus-
trated in The Studio, June
1915) is the large marble
Bather, subtly yet power-
fully modelled, despite its
suavity, which was one of
the purchases of the Chan-
trey Fund from this year’s
Royal Academy. The little
bronze study of a recumbent
female figure is a work full
of inspiration; and in The Meta^ Pourer (Royal
Academy, 1915) and Mother and Child the
sculptor shows his sympathy with those who
toil, a feeling akin to that which prompted the
noble works of Millet, and which finds its ex-
pression in the art of the Belgian Meunier and
Brangwyn. To the latter such a powerful
sketch as this little Metal Pourer would surely
appeal, and it is not surprising to learn that
he, as well as other brother artists, has pur-
chased a replica. The sculptor must have
been keenly conscious as he vigorously modelled
this tensely straining figure, of the heat, the
sweat, and the toil of the whole life of this work-
man, which is so fervently epitomised in his
momentary action. It is a work of pure in-
spiration, wrought, one imagines, rapidly in the
white heat of enthusiasm, and, to quote Mr.
Toft’s own words from his excellent manual
for students, “ Modelling and Sculpture,” it
reminds us that “ there is in all creative art a
pleasure, almost a rapture, which is in itself
one of the most exquisite delights given to
man, the sense of having accomplished worthy
work.”
One cannot do better, in concluding this brief
notice, than quote a further passage from the same
source, for here may be found summed up what
“the metal pourer”
BRONZE STATUETTE BY ALBERT TOP f
Rome in 1911. Beautiful,
too, and very characteristic
is the marble head, repro-
duced on p. 24. Simplicity
of form, graceful poise of
the head, the light and
delicate suggestion of the
hair—all is in keeping with
the beauty of the material,
and we do not think we
exaggerate in saying that
here, indeed, in this pensive
head Mr. Toft has made the
marble live. One of his
most important figures (illus-
trated in The Studio, June
1915) is the large marble
Bather, subtly yet power-
fully modelled, despite its
suavity, which was one of
the purchases of the Chan-
trey Fund from this year’s
Royal Academy. The little
bronze study of a recumbent
female figure is a work full