Boxer

Richmond Barthé modeled Boxer from memory, inspired by the famed Cuban featherweight Eligio Sardiñas Montalvo, better known as “Kid Chocolate”—who, Barthé said, “moved like a ballet dancer.” Barthé, a Black sculptor who studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, frequently explored the expressive potential of the body’s form, pose, and movement. Here, the artist conveyed the boxer’s immense strength and agility with lyricism and grace.