Ape with Skull

H. Rheinhold 26/03/1853 - 02/10/1900

Summary

The figure of a monkey seated upon a pile of books by Charles Darwin, hunched over in contemplation of the human skull it holds before it; the monkey strokes its chin with the other hand, adopting the characteristic gesture of someone thinking; its legs are crossed and, in the left foot, it holds a set of callipers. The piece stands on an integral square base.

Display Label

Room 2: Cold Cases This room showcases a changing selection of 10-15 sculptures under investigation. These are artworks about which we have little information, are in poor condition or have been off display for a long time and would benefit from new research. The aim is to open up this research process more publicly and consider how a public gallery and its users can care for and use collections. Each object has a case file that includes the object record from our database and copies of any archival material in the artist’s file with new material to be added as research develops. A research board for each object will raise questions and lines of enquiry and be a space where new information can be shared. Artists’ files are normally only accessible by appointment – this time we are crowd-sourcing information. By filling in the gaps in our knowledge, we can all better understand these works of art. At the start of this room are three sculptures by Algardi, Cassidy and Hepworth which are well documented, researched and regularly exhibited, so have been considered ‘collection highlights’. Other works we know little about.