William Roberts R.A. (British, 1895-1980)
Sam Rabin versus Black Eagle
gouache
28.2 x 19.1 cm. (11 1/8 x 7 1/2 in.) (sheet); 22.6 x 17.2 cm. (8 7/8 x 6 3/4 in.) (image)
Executed in 1934
Footnotes:
Provenance
Private Collection, U.K.

Exhibited
Probably London, Lefevre Gallery, William Roberts: Drawings and Paintings, February 1935, cat.no.25
Probably London, Lefevre Gallery, William Roberts: Paintings, March 1938, cat.no.25

The boxing match was a subject Roberts favoured, returning to often, and in fact he painted and drew this subject so many times that the development of his style from angular Vorticism to a more naturalistic mature personal style can be traced through these scenes. From the early 1914 drawing Boxers - a mass of moving, jagged limbs in highly contrasting monochrome – to later renditions of this theme such as The Interval Before Round Ten (1919-20), Novices (circa 1921) and The Boxing Match (circa 1925-7), the move from a cubist fragmentation towards more complex compositions utilising three-dimensional space, naturalistic colouring and human forms can be seen. Twenty years on from his initial studies of this subject, in the present lot we can see that his desire to capture action and movement is no less diminished, but the development of his distinctive personal style can be traced through this popular subject perhaps more clearly than any other.

In Sam Rabin versus Black Eagle, Roberts captures a particularly dramatic moment in the fight, showing Rabin with an upended Black Eagle, tipping him over the side of the ring as he clutches onto the ropes, to the alarm of the boxing officials. Characteristically for Roberts he creates a composition full of dynamism, communicating the force of the boxers and the consternation of the officials with practiced skill. Atmospherically lit with a dark background and brightly illuminated stage, the corner of the ring framed in a closely-cropped composition, the viewer is presented with a tangle of limbs and ropes, outstretched arms and faces contorted in effort.

While Roberts painted and drew boxing subjects on numerous occasions, the present lot is unusual in that it depicts two named boxers who each have a unique history. In contrast to other paintings on this subject such as The Interval Before Round Ten or The Boxing Match, the boxers are identified and the match may perhaps have held greater significance for Roberts given that he knew Sam Rabin personally. Rabin had trained as a painter and sculptor at the Slade School of Fine Art, and had an exhibition of paintings at the Leicester Galleries in 1960, mainly of boxing subjects. His opponent (Wilfred) Robert Adams, who went by the wrestling name of Black Eagle, had also previously studied to become a teacher in Georgetown, British Guiana but after arriving in Britain in the 1920s and working as a labourer for some time, a sports promoter persuaded him to become a professional wrestler. As the Black Eagle, he became heavyweight champion of the British Empire. He was also an actor and was the first black actor to appear on British television.

The significance of the boxing subject for Roberts cannot be underestimated and indeed a great number of the paintings and drawings he did featuring boxers are in the collections of public institutions around the world, including Novices (Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester), Outclassed (British Museum, London), The Interval Before Round Ten (Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney), and Sparring Partners (Tate Gallery, London). Indeed, Sam Rabin versus Black Eagle is a study for the finished painting of the same subject in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. The present lot is thus a rare opportunity to acquire a museum-quality drawing with a subject of unique importance to the artist.

We are grateful to David Cleall and Bob Davenport for their assistance in cataloguing this lot.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR
AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.