Figures In Wood Of West Africa (1951)

Published by Alec Tiranti, 1951, hardcover, French/ English text, 49 pages, 48 (a+b) b/w photographic plates, ex central reference library (never lent out) book with usual stamps & labels, condition: very good.

Leon Underwood discusses the abstract character of the figures of West Africa, their background in ritual and ceremony and the abstract art of today. This book contains 48 + plates of photographs of pieces in various collections, and a map, with plate numbers, indicating at a glance the provenance of the specimens shown. The present volume forms a general introduction to the study of West African art written from an artists viewpoint. 

Leon Underwood, sculptor and painter has, has visited West Africa on his many travels in the study of primitive art, and writes on the subject from the aesthetic viewpoint. He discusses the abstract character of African art, its connection with the customs and beliefs of [27 African countries], and its connection with the abstract art of today. 

Leon Underwood (1890 1975) was an artist, although primarily known as a sculptor, printmaker and painter, he was also an influential teacher and promoter of African art. His travels in Mexico and West Africa had a substantial influence on his art, particularly on the representation of the human figure in his sculptures and paintings. Underwood is best known for his sculptures cast in bronze, carvings in marble, stone and wood and his drawings. His lifetime's work includes a wide range of media and activities, with an expressive and technical mastery. Underwood did not hold modernism and abstraction in art in high regard and this led to critics often ignoring his work until the 1960s when he came to be viewed as an important figure in the development of modern sculpture.