Richmond Barthé
Feral Benga (Benga: Dance Figure)

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Artist Richmond BarthéAmerican, 1901–1989

CultureAmerican

Titles

Feral Benga (Benga: Dance Figure)

Date1935

PlaceNew York, New York, United States

MediumBronze

Dimensionsbronze: 19 × 6 3/4 × 4 1/2 in. (48.3 × 17.1 × 11.4 cm)
attached marble base: 1 1/4 × 6 in. diameter (3.2 × 15.2 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the African American Art Advisory Association

Object number2000.245

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 203

On view

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Department

American Art

Object Type

SCULPTURE

DescriptionAmong the foremost artists of the Harlem
Renaissance, Richmond Barthé encountered
François “Feral” Benga, a Senegalese cabaret
dancer, in Paris in 1934. Barthé began modeling
Feral Benga immediately after his return to
New York, rendering the figure with an Art
Deco sinuousness that captures the dancer’s
grace and deliberate exoticism. James A. Porter
wrote admiringly of Barthé in 1943: “[His works]
are so close to perfection of statement that their
effect on the spectator is transporting.”
ProvenanceOriginal owner: Armando Solis
from thence to the Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans
Exhibition History"African-American Advisory Association (Five-A)" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 2 to April 7, 2003.

"African-American Art in the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston", The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 22, 2004 - May 9, 2004.

"Houston Collects: African American Art," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Upper Brown Pavilion, July 31-October 26, 2008.

"American Made: 250 Years of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 7 July 2012 - 2 January 2013.

"Statements: African American Art from the Museum's Collection," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Millennium Gallery, January 24–September 25, 2016.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

The sculpture is signed on the bronze base: "BARTHÉ [copyright symbol] 1986 A/P"

Engraved on the underside of the marble base: "3"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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