The Passion of Collecting Academic Nudes

Join me as we explore my collection of Academic Nudes from the 18th, 19th, and Early 20th Centuries and serendipitous finds in the Museum, Art Auction, and Gallery world......examples from the Golden Age of the European Academie


Saturday, April 11, 2026

Remember TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2023? .....ACTAEON- Bronze Relief - Unknown German Artist -Circa 1900-1930....Correction: It's not!

Well, I hit the big 80 several weeks ago and as the song goes: "The Old Gray Mare, She Ain't What She Used To Be!" But he (me, the old gray dude) is still capable of correcting a mistake. That bronze relief I erroniously identified back in 2023 was not Actaeon but in fact was Horace Vernet's - Mazeppa and the Wolves - 1826. I was stumbling around some European auction sites when I stumbled onto the correct depiction of that bronze. I have a very ligitamite excuse..... I'm old and I see dead people! Here's the correct depiction of that bronze:

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Italian School, circa 1880, Unsigned, Standing Male Nude

What’s that old saying? ….. “When a door closes, a window may open” Just minutes after I lost out on the Hacquart portrait, I was browsing eBay Italy and this nice drawing popped up at a reasonable price so I grabbed it. It’s an unsigned, anonymous Academy academic standing male nude, Circa 1880, but shows nice drawing talent. Enjoy!

Timothée HACQUART, (1862-1918) Portrait of a Young Man, signed 1883

I think you all know how much I love a good portrait by a talented artist. I found this drawing by the French artist Timothee Hacquard (1862-1918) on eBay France. When I tried to bid, buyers in the US were locked out of the bidding. The seller was unable to change the original auction listing and/or accomodate a direct sell. Unfortunately I was unable to buy the drawing. It went for a fraction of what I offered the seller for a direct sale. I did some research on the artist and the majority of his body of work was unimpressive but this drawing knocked it out of the ballpark for me. Oh well, you win some, you lose some!
Here are a few examples of his works:

Saturday, August 23, 2025

That's Me Over There.......And Guess Where That Photo Was Taken?

You may have heard about the recent landslide and tsunami in the Tracy Arm Fjord in Alaska. Well that photo in the "About Me" section is of me standing on the pontoon of a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver which had just landed in front of the South Sawyer glacier in Tracy Arm Fjord. Behind me is part of the massive wall of rock that recently fell onto the South Sawyer glacier and into the the fjord. That area where I am standing is now covered in tons of rock and ice. I took my youngest son on a trip to the Northwest, Washington, Oregon, and on to Alaska to do the inside passage on the Alaska Marine Highway and boy am I glad that landslide missed us by ten years!

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Anton Endstorfer (1880-1961) Bronze Sculpture - Amor - Nude Boy With Bow - Early 20th Century

The Artist (Above)
I have had my collecting eye on this little bronze for over a month now. I did some cursory research on the artist and the asking price was within recent auction sales prices and tonight I decided it was time to buy the little guy. The title of the sculpture is “Amor” and dates from the early 20th century. Here is some biographical information: The Austrian sculptor and medalist Anton Endstorfer learned his art in various master classes in Wien (Vienna), where he worked until 1913. During this time, he exhibited his own works for the first time. From 1915 he was a member of the Künstlerhaus. As a freelance artist he created several monuments and public wells in Vienna, Moslar and Ybbs. During World War II he was subject to a professional ban because of his Jewish wife initiated by his colleague Wilhelm Frass, who was a Nazi sympathizer. Endstorfer was only allowed to work as an unskilled laborer in Edwin Grienquer’s workshop. After World War II, Endstorfer worked as a freelancer again but was appointed a professor in 1949. In the late 1950s, he had to give up his job because of an eye problem. The Female ball thrower is a 43 cm high bronze. The “Female relay runner” was shown in 1929 in the annual exhibition of the Künstlerhaus and was awarded a cash prize.
Here are a few more examples of his works: