Lot 22
  • 22

Paul Klee

Estimate
700,000 - 1,000,000 GBP
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Description

  • Paul Klee
  • P VIERZEHN (P FOURTEEN)
  • signed Klee (upper right)
  • oil on primed cloth on canvas
  • 41 by 69cm.
  • 16 1/8 by 27 1/8 in.

Provenance

Galka E. Scheyer, Braunschweig, New York & California (until 1939)
Lily Klee, Bern (from 1940)
Buchholz Gallery (Curt Valentin), New York
Robert Ellsworth Gross, California (acquired by 1942)
Stendahl Galleries, Los Angeles
Charles Ducommon, Los Angeles (1962-1989)
The Lefevre Gallery (Alex Reid & Lefevre), London (from 1989)
Thomas Ammann Fine Art, Zurich
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1993

Exhibited

Los Angeles, Los Angeles Museum, The Blue Four, 1933, no. 131
Hollywood, Hollywood Gallery of Modern Art & Oakland, Oakland Art Gallery, Paintings by Paul Klee, 1935
San Francisco, Museum of Art, Oils and Watercolors by Paul Klee, 1937
Hollywood, Putzel Gallery, Recent Pictures by Paul Klee, 1937, no. 11
Cincinnati, Cincinnati Art Museum, Paintings by Paul Klee and Mobiles and Stabiles by Alexander Calder, 1942

Literature

Naomi Sawelson-Gorse, 'Kleine Kreise und brüchige Bündnisse: Galka Scheyer und amerikanische Sammler der "Blauen Vier"', in Die Blaue Vier. Feininger, Jawlensky, Kandinsky, Klee in der Neuen Welt (exhibition catalogue), Bern & Düsseldorf, 1997-98, mentioned pp. 60-61
Paul Klee Stiftung (ed.), Paul Klee, Catalogue Raisonné, Bern, 2002, vol. 6, no. 5519, illustrated p. 78; illustrated in colour p. 93

Condition

Executed on primed cloth, laid down on canvas (this is the artist's original arrangement). Apart from several scattered small spots of retouching visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in good condition. Colours: In comparison to the printed catalogue illustration, the yellows are slightly cooler and the blue is more pronounced in the original.
"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.
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Catalogue Note

'In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Klee devoted much of his time to strictly geometrical constructions. At the same time, as a relief from such purely rational labor, he produced a series of dreamlike, calligraphic, and labyrinthine line compositions distinguished by their mysterious subjective features' (O. Okuda, in Klee and America (exhibition catalogue), Neue Galerie, New York, 2006, p. 179). The present painting combines these two approaches – the central feature is composed of a linear shape or diagram, derived from Klee's constructions on paper which he called 'kinetic variations'. The irregular geometric shape is seen here three times, painted in different sizes and orientations, and overlapping. Although it originated in Klee's mathematical and spatial studies, the resulting image evokes an animal-like biomorphic figure.

 

The first owner of this work was Galka Scheyer, a collector and dealer whose primary interest was in 'The Blue Four': Jawlensky, Kandinsky, Klee and Feininger. In 1924 she moved from Germany to New York, and later settled in California. In America, particularly California, she befriended a number of collectors and museum curators, and energetically promoted the four artists, organising group and solo exhibitions, and giving lectures on their work. P Vierzehn was included in several exhibitions organised by Galka Scheyer and held in various California museums and galleries throughout the 1930s. It was mainly through her activities, as well as those of the dealer Curt Valentin, that works by Klee were introduced to American collections.