PALM 00002

Butler, Reginald Cotterell

The Bride

1964

Metal

Bronze

This bronze sculpture titled The Bride was executed by British sculptor Reg Butler (1913—1981). It is one of eight bronzes cast from Butler's plaster original, which he worked on between 1954 and 1961 in the garden of his studio in Berkhampsted, Hertfordshire. Butler wrote of the sculpture, "It was made entirely outdoors in a tree—surrounded garden. Although I wouldn't claim a direct metaphor, The Bride probably owes a great deal to the adjacent tree trunks and the leaves around me at all times." The artist's stamp as well as the designation "2/8" indicating that this is the second version of eight cast by Butler, is visible at the base of the sculpture. Another cast of The Bride is located in the courtyard of Hamilton Hall at Princeton University.

Butler was originally trained as an architect. During World War II, he worked at a blacksmith mending farm implements in Sussex as part of his assignment as a conscientious objector. He began to sculpt in 1944 and despite his lack of formal training went on to have a one—man show at the Hanover Gallery, London, and became the first Gregory Fellow in Sculpture at the University of Leeds. By the mid—1950s, he was considered one of the most promising British sculptors of this generation. His works are owned by such prestigious institutions as the Museum of Modern Art and the Tate.

Louisville's Bride was donated to the city by Dann C. Byck, owner of the Louisvile—based Byck's Department Stores as part of a bequest. (KG)