Massim Mother and Child Lime Spatula-Primitivism Show-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
Massim lime spatula of mother and child from the Primitivism show and ex. Seymour Lazar Collection, late 19th/early 20th century, 14 5/8” in height. Hermione Waterfield who was the Christie’s London tribal art expert back in the early 1980s recounts the following about the spatula, "I found it (the Massim lime spatula) with Enid Isaacs who was a watercolour collector who knew Francis Russell. She just liked it and I think bought it in Portobello Road. How it got to Primitivism not sure. Who wrote the essay in which it was included? If Alan Wilkinson I might have taken him for a drink to Enid because she had a Henry Moore." The relevant chapter was indeed written by Alan Wilkinson so this is likely to be the story. Francis Russell was (and I think still is) a drawing specialist at Christie's in London.”