Susanna (1925)

Frank Owen Dobson

bronze

Tate, London, Liverpool and St Ives

Classification:

Sculpture

Materials:

Bronze

Physical Object Description:

Inscribed: ‘Dobson ⅓’ on base

Dimensions:

58.4 x 41.5 x 35 cm

Accession Number:

N05040

Credit:

Presented by the Contemporary Art Society, 1939

Scheme:

Historic Purchase by Purchaser (1914-2008)

Ownership history:

Purchased probably from the artist by The Hon. Jasper Nicholas Ridley (1887-1951) for the Contemporary Art Society), 1926; presented to the Tate Gallery, 1939

Relationship:

The Hon. Jasper Nicholas Ridley Tate, London, Liverpool and St Ives

Subject:

Biblical

During the 1920s, Frank Dobson had turned from painting to sculpture and often made work that featured the nude female figure, shown seated or kneeling. With Susanna (1925) the artist depicts a startled woman. The title of the bronze suggests it was inspired by the story of Susanna, as told in Christian biblical and Jewish holy texts. Susanna is secretly observed by two elders as she bathes in her garden. Having spied on her, they then attempt to blackmail her into having sex with them. She refuses, and they accuse her of adultery, which at the time, was a crime punishable by death. Daniel helps to prove that she is innocent, and the elders are sentenced to death for their actions. Two other bronze casts are in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, USA (edition 3/3 - gift of A. Conger Goodyear; 1928:17) and in the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff (A319) and there exists a modelled clay version, also dated 1925.

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