JEAN SHEPHERD–LOIS NETTLETON ALBUM part 2 & (ARTSY 170) Henry Moore

LOIS NETTLETON’S SHEP ALBUM

Some of Lois’s saved items are now sadly fragile and yellowed newspaper clippings. A major one of these is a photo at the awarding of the Village Voice’s “Obie awards” from the May 27, 1959 front page of the Voice. It shows Shepherd on left with Lois next to him, Anne Bancroft on the right.

A delightful series is of Valentine greetings—several hand-made ones from Lois to Jean, of which I possess one, and one original drawing by Jean he gave to Lois (which I also own).

This first one is mine, (about 8 ½” X 11 1/2”) including front, inside,

and the small red heart Lois made and glued to the large

white envelope that had contained it.

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RECLINING FIGURE

Is mine an authentic, fine work of art?

Or a cheap reproduction? Or both?

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Since 1974, I’ve possessed a small sculpture by Henry Moore. It was advertised and sold to me for $30 by the Seven Arts Society. (Time Incorporated Book Clubs, Inc.) It’s a replica in resin/plaster with bronze finish, “reproduced from the bronze original housed at the Detroit Institute of Arts.”

There are also seven of the original bronzes (see one with its price estimate in the old Auction gallery catalog above). There are probably scores–or hundreds, maybe—of the $30 replicas.

Part of Seven Arts Society ad

and the bottom of the marble base of mine.

Because it’s a cast made from the original–just as expensive bronzes are always casts (from the mold) made from the artist’s original–I consider mine not a cheap replica or reproduction as a cheap magazine photo of an oil painting is, but as similar-from-the-original expensive bronzes. To explain further, my replica isn’t a copy made on-the-cheap by someone copying the original from a photo.

An offering on ebay of a replica from the Detroit Institute such as mine sold for $999, and one very recently offered for $650, mistakenly described as being of bronze. I messaged the seller and he/she corrected the description. This artsy situation in my life caused the research, sent message, and further thinking by me about my Henry Moore and what, indeed, is an “original.” What, indeed, is an original bronze?

Yes, I still consider my wonderful little Moore sculpture to be

an authentic kind of “original.”

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