Lot 286
  • 286

Tom Wesselmann

Estimate
150,000 - 200,000 GBP
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Description

  • Tom Wesselmann
  • Blue Nude
  • signed and dated 99
  • oil on canvas
  • 78 by 114.5cm.; 30 5/8 by 45 1/8 in.
  • Executed in 1999-2000.

Provenance

Benden & Klimczak Gallery, Cologne (acquired directly from the artist)
Private Collection, New York

Literature

Exhibition Catalogue, Bonn, Galerie Benden & Klimczak, Tom Wesselmann: Blue Nudes 1999-2001, 2006, p. 9, illustrated in colour

Condition

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is deeper and richer in the original with greater variation to the blues of the figure's body. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is a light rub mark running down from the top of the right extreme edge, and a few further tiny rub marks to the top of the upper left quadrant. There are two further unobtrusive small rub marks to the bottom edge: one to the left of the artist's signature and one to the lower left corner. There is a tiny media accretion to the bottom left-hand corner tip. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Acclaimed as one of the fathers of American Pop Art, Tom Wesselmann first came to the attention of the art world with his 1961 series of 'Great American Nudes' which were exhibited at the Tanager Gallery, New York in December of that year. Interestingly, Wesselmann never liked his categorisation as a Pop Artist, primarily because in his view, it placed too much emphasis on subject matter and assumed some form of sociological commentary. "I dislike labels in general and 'Pop' in particular," he explained, "especially because it overemphasizes the material used." (the artist cited in an interview with Gene Swenson, ARTnews, 1964, p. 44) Unlike Warhol, who's Popular imagery borrowed heavily from mass media sources and sought to commercialise the processes of both looking at and the making of art, Wesselmann's art was rigorously defined by his own personal aesthetic experiences as well as being rooted in art history. Looking back he commented, "I approached subject matter as a scoundrel. I had nothing to say about it whatsoever. I only wanted to make these exciting paintings."

From early classical art to the present day, the female nude is one of the most frequently recurring motifs in Western Art. For more than four decades it has remained the enduring subject of Wesselmann's pictorial investigation, forming a vehicle with which he has explored new forms of representational abstraction. In his early career as an artist, Wesselmann had followed the aesthetic principles of Abstract Expressionism, and it was only in 1960 that he turned to figurative art. His decision was prompted by a desire to unite the traditionally opposing realms of abstraction and figuration; something he did through simplifying his compositions of the female nude in an interior space into flat panels of bold colour. These works were partly inspired by the licentious example of Henri Matisse, whose bright palettes and simplification of compositions into pared-down colour fields inspired Wesselmann to break from the prevailing trends of artistic expression. "Matisse was just so incredibly good," explained Wesselmann. "He was the painter I most idolized." (the artist cited in: Jean-Claude Lebensztejn, 'Eight Statements,' in Art in America, July-August 1975, p. 70)

Like Matisse who pursued ever simpler forms as he entered the twilight years of his artistic maturity, Wesselmann's series of Blue Nudes begun in 1999 are widely considered to be the artist's greatest late series. Revealing a supreme confidence in its bold contour lines and monochrome palette, the present work is visually, as well as nominally, inextricably linked to Matisse's last great series of cut-out blue nudes that he produced between 1952 and 1954. The perfection of form achieved in these late series by both artists between line and colour, plays on the alternation of positive and negative whereby the figure simultaneously blends in and floats off the canvas with elegance and sensuality. Marking the culmination of forty years of pictorial re-invention and discovery, Wesselmann's Blue Nude is a true testament to the genius of this great American artist.