Bronze Hound's Art Collection: Tim Sullivan (contemporary)

About a year and a half ago now, I was laying in a hospital bed with more time and internet access than mobility. It was Christmas and I was feeling pretty down. While surfing various auctions online, I came across a poorly worded but very interesting looking statue with an incredibly low starting bid. The seller didn't post more than a line about how they didn't know anything about it and if you didn't like it then you didn't have to bid on it. At the same time, I had no idea the dimensions of the piece, the name of the artist, nothing. Plus it looked so dirty that it could have been made of raw and corroded pewter, for all the detail the pictures showed. It actually looked rather silvery... They cast the line and reeled me in! I bid accordingly and was the only one to do so. I won it for an amazingly low price.

Fortunately I was released from the hospital a couple days later to prepare for back surgery. One day about a week later a quite large package showed up on my doorstep. At first I wondered what the heck it was and then was quite shocked to find it contained the statue I had won, and that it was indeed made of solid bronze. The bronze is a whopping 10 inches tall and the solid wood base another 1-3/4 inches high, making it nearly a foot tall and quite heavy. But wow, it wasn't just dirty, it was fffiiiiilllthy. I don't believe it had been dusted in decades much less properly cleaned and waxed. The dust had solidified into a crust that didn't move with gentle fingernail action, and it had so many nooks, crevices and tiny but deep niches that it was going to be a challenge to get clean much less waxed. It was going to take a more serious approach than my other bronzes had. The artist's name and mark were clear on the back, "Sullivan" over a tomahawk, with a copyright symbol and dated '83 with the edition number of AP/25 (this is the Artist's Proof of the sculpture and another 25 were released in the regular edition). There was no plaque on the base or title on the work itself, so I began doing my due diligence to find out as much as I could. A little research led me to the artist, Tim Sullivan, and a quite pleasant call to that very nice man led to the the title of the piece - "Vision Seeker." Mr. Sullivan commented on it being one of his early full bronze sculptures and that it had sold out "pretty quickly" after it was originally offered in 1983. We had a pleasant chat for about half an hour that I feel would have lasted longer if my medications hadn't started to kick in and knock me out. :)

Prolific sculptor Tim Sullivan is probably best known for his impressive output of small to medium sized figurines for the Chilmark Company (among others). His works for Chilmark were primarily made of pewter but were often decorated with applied metals like silver, copper and bronze in a vermeil technique. They are in large part quite well realized and neatly sculpted, showing the artist's fine grasp of not only his subject matter but a clear understanding of design and anatomy. Many of the larger Chilmark pieces are worth a substantial amount of money today and are highly collectible, especially since the company folded in 2000.

What many of the collectors of his pewter figures don't realize is that Tim Sullivan was a sculptor of gallery bronzes as well. Over the course of his career he had garnered over fifty prizes for his sculptures and his works are held in collections all over the world. Sadly, several years ago he suffered a major heart attack which deprived his brain of oxygen for roughly ten minutes. This event led to his retirement, as he said he lost his inspiration to sculpt. "It just went pffft," he told me. Though he is no longer sculpting, we are all very fortunate that he is still with us and remains a kind and generous man who is quite willing to talk about his art. When I talked to him, he told me that he is still selling the last of several of his lovely sculptures that were in his inventory prior to his retirement. If you like his work and want an original for yourself, click on the link to the right and check out his catalogue. There are still a few very lovely sculptures available which have not closed out their editions. But hurry! The early bird gets the worm (and hopefully gets to chat with Mr. Sullivan too).

Having had two spinal surgeries myself since acquiring this lovely piece, I was not only not allowed to lift it but was physically unable to. I didn't want to post it here until it was properly cleaned, waxed and looking top notch. Today I was finally feeling well enough to take a chance at lifting it to clean it, and WOW, I'm glad I got it scrubbed up and waxed!!! I unscrewed it from the base, cleaned it with a soft brush and mild soap to remove the crud. The dust (and probably ash - I believe it came from a smoker's household) came right off after a good mild soapy water soak and scrub with a soft used toothbrush, the old wax having protected the metal and patina. A fresh coat of Renaissance Wax and a good buffing later and it looks like a million bucks! Probably weighs about the same too. ;) I refused to take before and after pictures. The point of this blog is to feature the artwork, not the process of cleaning and maintaining it. Besides, it is such a wonderful creation that it should only be seen at its best.

Depicted here is a Native American Northern Plains Indian medicine man (possibly Sioux) making an appeal to a higher power. He's muscular but looks as if he's been fasting for a while - his belly is very flat and his cheeks a bit sunken, like he's missed a few good meals. He is seated on a pile of rocks draped with a buffalo hide and a buffalo skull sits below his right foot. He's wearing a simple outfit, a buffalo horn headdress with a feathered headband, a plain loincloth and moccasins. On his right forearm is a round shield covered with decorated hide and edged with leather ribbons. Hanging from his left hand by a strap looped over his thumb and around his wrist is a war club with a hatchet head at the end of the handle. He's seated with his legs loosely crossed, arms raised to the sky into which his upturned face stares. A breeze from his left gently blows his hair, feathers and ribbons to the right. Even in his stillness, the artist has captured a sense of motion. It's a very impressive piece!

So now I present to you "Vision Seeker" by Tim Sullivan. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!