William Wauer. (1866 Oberwiesenthal - 1962 Berlin) "The Skater" ("Figure in Motion"). Original title Bronze, silver-plated, 1916, probably cast in 1928, signed; Cubist bronze sculpture which abstracts the figure, dynamics and movement of the skater into curved forms, the head into a cube. The work is one of the early small sculptures by the important avant-garde artist, who had been a member of the group of artists around Herwarth Walden's gallery "Der Sturm" in Berlin since 1912. In 1918, he took part in the gallery's 61st exhibition with his own sculptures for the first time. "Der Schlittschuhläufer" was first cast in an edition of 7 or 8 copies (plus some HC copies), first shown in July/August 1918 in the 65th exhibition of the gallery "Der Sturm" (under no. 72). In 1928, Wauer received a bronze medal for "Der Schlittschuhläufer" at the art competition of the Olympic Games in Amsterdam; probably in this context, an edition under the title "Figure in Motion" was executed in silver-plated bronze. H. 24 cm; plinth approx. 17 cm x 10 cm. Silver-plated bronze, 1916, signed. Cast circa 1928.