James Richmond Barthé saw François “Feral” Benga perform in 1934, inspiring this, his most famous artwork. Benga was a Senegalese cabaret dancer. Much like his contemporary, Josephine Baker, Benga specialized in sensual, erotic dances staged and costumed to suggest foreign, tropical lands.
Barthé is known for his sculpture depicting the African American experience and for his studies of the male physique. He was born in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and was encouraged at a young age to draw and paint. He began his training at the Art Institute of Chicago, paying for his tuition with commissioned portraits. Barthé intended to be a painter, but, after a professor encouraged him to model heads in clay, he discovered a talent that would define his career. His sculpture premiered at the Negro in Art Week exhibition in 1927, and in 1930 he had his first solo show at the Women’s City Club in Chicago. After graduating, Barthé moved to New York City where was a leading member of the Harlem Renaissance. Barthé received numerous honors and his work was collected during his lifetime by the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A gay man, Barthé is not known to have had any long term relationships but was associated with a circle of gay artists, writers, and actors active in the Harlem Renaissance.
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There were only three casts of Feral Benga made from the original 1935 model. One went to François Benga himself, the second to a private collector, and the third purchased directly from the Arden Gallery (Barthé’s dealer) by the Hackley Art Gallery. The other two 1930s castings are also now in public collections. A new cast, authorized by the artist, was made in 1986, but these later sculptures are visibly different than the original.