Signed with initials (to the reverse): ALD and dated 1955

Cedar wood, 69 cm (27 ins) high

Literature: Alan Durst, Wood Carving, Viking Press, New York, 1968 (4^th edition) (detail illustrated on front cover of the book)

Durst was so captivated by the statuary at Chartres Cathedral that he changed from stained glass design to sculpture whilst a student at Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1914. He became one of the foremost exponents of direct carving in British art alongside contemporaries such as Eric Gill and Jacob Epstein, his extensive work including his statues for Peterborough Cathedral and the frieze above the entrance to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Reflecting his subject matter, Durst attributed a spiritual dimension to his art writing in 1959, in the preface to the third edition of his celebrated book Wood Carving: “For there is a mystical quality about the creative work of a man’s hands which defies analysis. Few artists know just how the thing happens…it is a matter of common experience…that he is a channel through which a mind outside of himself is finding expression.”