Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a photographic photography by John Storrs. It is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
It was included in a 1920s survey of sculptors’ work, compiled by William Kineton Parkes and later donated to the Archive of Art and Design in 1938.
This photograph captures a bronze sculpture by John Storrs, mounted on a green card. It was included in a 1920s survey of sculptors’ work, compiled by William Kineton Parkes and later donated to the Archive of Art and Design in 1938. The image serves as a documentary record rather than an artistic statement in its own right, preserving the appearance of a three-dimensional form for archival purposes.
Subject & Meaning
The sculpture depicts a male figure in a static, elongated pose: arms raised behind the head, legs parted slightly. The posture suggests an athletic or ritualistic stance, stripped of narrative detail. Its simplicity and lack of ornamentation emphasize form over expression, aligning with early modernist tendencies to reduce the human figure to essential volumes and gestures.
Technique & Style
The original sculpture is rendered in bronze with a deliberately rough surface, highlighting muscle definition and facial contours through textured carving rather than smooth finishing. The photograph faithfully reproduces these tactile qualities, capturing the interplay of light and shadow across the uneven surface. The image’s plain mounting reinforces its function as a neutral record, not a curated display.
History & Provenance
The photograph originated from a questionnaire-based survey conducted in the 1920s by William Kineton Parkes, who collected responses and images from sculptors across Britain. The resulting materials were bequeathed to the Archive of Art and Design in 1938. This particular image remains part of that collection, offering insight into the range of sculptural practices documented during that period.
Context
In the interwar years, many artists and collectors sought to document contemporary sculpture as a means of preserving evolving artistic trends. Storrs’s work, with its geometric clarity and rejection of academic polish, reflected broader modernist interests in abstraction and primal form. The survey that included this photograph aimed to map these shifts, positioning sculpture within a rapidly changing visual culture.
Legacy
The photograph endures as a historical artifact, preserving a moment in British sculpture’s transition toward modernism. While the original bronze remains in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection, this image continues to serve as a primary reference for researchers studying early 20th-century sculptural practice and the archival methods used to record it.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Henry Bradley Storrs (June 25, 1885 – April 26, 1956), also known as John Bradley Storrs and John H.
