PALM DESERT, CA.- Heather James Fine Art is offering Buste Ancien, one of the earliest and best bronze sculptures by French artist Henri Matisse. One of the most innovative and influential artists of the 20th century, Matisse was a leading figure of Fauvism, and his work is exhibited in museum collections and exhibitions around the world.

Best known for his colorful paintings and monochromatic drawings, Matisse turned to sculpture in 1899 to satisfy his interest in conquering weight and mass in his portrait work. “I did sculpture because what interested me in painting was to put order into my head,” the artist told Pierre Courthion in 1931, as quoted in Jack Flam’s 1986 book Matisse: The Man and His Art, 1869-1918. “I took up clay in order to have a rest from painting, in which I had done absolutely everything I could for the moment. ... When I found it in sculpture, it served me in my painting.”

Matisse admired Rodin, but also chose not to take his advice. Rodin encouraged painstaking detail. Matisse was more interested in the character of his subjects, and executed his works in a gestural, more emotive fashion. Buste Ancien is a perfect example, and has impeccable provenance. A private collector acquired the work from the artist’s family, and it was sold at Sotheby’s London in 1960 to Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York. It was then in the Joseph Hirshhorn Collection in New York, followed by two other private collections.

Heather James Fine Art offers a rare look into art history’s past and present, featuring a wide breadth of genres, including cultural art and antiquities, American and Latin American masters, European masters, Impressionist and Modern, postwar and contemporary, and photography. The gallery showcases blue-chip and cutting-edge contemporary art while maintaining the integrity of antiquity and classical masterpieces.

Heather James Fine Art has two galleries, one in Palm Desert, California, and the other in Jackson, Wyoming. For more information about the gallery and upcoming exhibitions, visit www.heatherjames.com or contact the Palm Desert Gallery at 760-346-8926.