LONDON, ENGLAND.- A rare alabaster bust by celebrated Austrian sculptor, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783) which has been unseen by the public since the 19th century, made its first ever appearance at auction, when it was offered as the highlight of Sotheby's European Sculpture & Works of Art 900-1900 sale on Friday, July 8, 2005. The work sold for $1.8 million.

The bust, later known as Rescued from Drowning, is from the sculptor's legendary limited series of extraordinary self-portrait character heads, produced by the sculptor during the 1770s. The Messerschmidt heads, created in lead, tin alloy, wood and alabaster, were first exhibited as a group in the Vienna exhibition of 1793. Rescued from Drowning was number 29 in the series and is the only original in alabaster believed to be located outside Austria. Of the other alabasters from the 1793 exhibition, two are missing, 10 are in the Österreichische Galerie, Vienna, one is in the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien and two formerly in the Sitte Collection in Vienna, are believed to be in private collections in Austria.

Two non-alabaster busts from the series were sold at Sotheby's New York in January 2005 - one in lead, entitled Ill Humoured Man, was purchased by the Louvre, Paris, for $4,832,000 (£2,564,756) - a record price for a work by Messerschmidt at auction and a world auction record for an 18th century sculpture. A second bust in tin alloy, entitled Incapable Bassoonist, sold for $2,480,000 (£1,316,348) against an estimate of $150,000-200,000. The rare alabaster version in Sotheby's sale is estimated to fetch £600,000-800,000*.

Alexander Kader, Head of Sotheby's Sculpture & Works of Art department in London, said: "The fact that this is the first time an alabaster head from the series has ever come to auction and it is the first time that this piece has been seen since the dispersal of the set at the end of the 19th century, makes this work incredibly rare - we therefore anticipate huge interest. This is a fantastic opportunity to acquire an exceptional and rare work from a revolutionary group of 18th century sculpture. The Messerschmidt character heads series set a precedent for self inquiry in art and has been a huge influence on contemporary art ever since. The intensity of emotion that is encapsulated in each head, offers direct and personal impact, which is interpreted differently by each individual and is therefore as engaging to an audience today, as it was when first created."

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was one of the most progressive and remarkable artists of his time. Born near Ulm in Swabia in 1736, he descended from a long line of Bavarian sculptors and originally trained under his uncle, Johann Baptist Straub, sculptor to the court in Munich. In 1755, following the completion of his apprenticeship, he moved to Vienna to attend the Imperial Academy of Arts. An initial appointment to the Imperial Arsenal, to chisel the decorative elements on canons, led to his first private commission, which was for the Arsenal State Rooms. He was asked to produce a gilt bronze bust of the Empress Maria Theresa and her consort Francis I of Lorraine and reliefs of their son, later the Habsburg Emperor Joseph II, and his wife Maria Isabella of Parma. Further religious, portrait and allegorical sculpture followed, all in the Baroque taste.

A trip to Rome in 1765 influenced him greatly and in 1769 Messerschmidt produced his first neo-classical portrait, a lead bust of the art critic Franz von Scheyb (currently in the Historisches Museum, Vienna), which is now considered to be the first neo-classical portrait sculpture in Austria. Messerschmidt submitted the von Scheyb bust as his admission piece to the illustrious Imperial Academy and it marked the beginning of a new direction in his oeuvre. He soon gained greater recognition and was appointed Deputy of Sculpture at the Academy.

From 1765 Messerschmidt lodged in the home of physician and spiritual healer Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), from whom the word 'mesmerised' derives. Mesmer was involved in hypnotic cures to relieve patients of their often psychologically-induced disorders. His methods inspired Messerschmidt to explore ideas about the human psyche, and in 1770 he began the character heads series. The impetus for him focusing all his energy on the series undoubtedly came when he was passed over as head of the Imperial Academy in 1774, at a time when his behaviour was supposedly becoming more and more eccentric. The Academicians granted him a stipend and Messerschmidt left Vienna.

Free from the constraints of the court and court patronage and disillusioned with society, he settled in Pressburg (now Bratislava) in 1776. Here Messerschmidt was to devote the rest of his life, with the exception of a few commissions, to his beloved heads. Using himself as the model, he is recorded as having spent hours in front of the mirror pulling and stretching his face to create different shapes and expressions, to the point of obsession. Indeed, the gallery owner Christian von Mechl noted in 1780 that: "Perpetual grimacing had ravaged his features." It was his own convulsive features that Messerschmidt captured so brilliantly in a range of materials. His bizarre behaviour resulted in him living his final years as a recluse. After his death in 1783, a total of 69 heads were found in his studio, 49 of which were from the original exhibition in Vienna.

The rare alabaster bust in Sotheby's sale shows Messerschmidt's face with eyes tightly shut and his mouth and neck so strained, that the sinews appear to be standing out from his neck. It is one of only a few in the series with hair, which was thought to have been Messerschmidt's way of showing his disdain at the continued use of wigs in the 18th century, as well as the Baroque movement, on which he had turned his back. The description of the work in the original 1793 Vienna exhibition read: 'The present bust describes the angst, fear and numbing sensation of someone who has just been rescued from the water.' However the description is very subjective, which was Messerschmidt's aim - the power being in the bust's emotional intensity, which affects each individual onlooker differently.

The appeal to a modern audience today can be seen by the artists that Messerschmidt's works have influenced and continue to influence today. 1906 saw a photographic series of Messerschmidt's character heads by Viennese photographer Joseph Wlha. Other artists include Egon Schiele (Self Portrait Photographs,1914), Francis Bacon (Head IV, Screaming Pope,1949, which has been linked to The Yawner, no.16 in the series), Arnulf Rainer (Overdrawings of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, 1975-76), Franz West (Anruf an Arnulf), Claes Oldenburg (Symbolic Self Portrait with Equals,1969) and Bruce Nauman (Ten Heads Circle, 1990).