Warsaw-born artist Alfred Wolmark was involved with the Vorticist group of artists in London and was a leader of the avant garde before the first World War. As a tribute to Wolmark’s friendship and support, Gaudier-Brzeska made a bust in plaster and presented it to the sitter. Six bronze casts were later made, of which this is the first. The facetted modelling of the face and hair show the artist’s interest in Cubism, a relatively recent artistic development. The bust is larger than life-size and the treatment of the head in profile gives this monumental work a sense of movement.