Lot 147
  • 147

François-Xavier Lalanne

Estimate
300,000 - 500,000 USD
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Description

  • François-Xavier Lalanne
  • "Moutons de Laine"
  • each impressed FXL/67
  • wool, patinated aluminum, electro-formed copper and wood

Provenance

Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1969

Exhibited

Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX, 1977

Literature

Grace Glueck, "New York Gallery Notes," Art in America, May 1967, p. 113
Patrick D'Elme, "Histoire des Lalannes," Cimaise, January 1970, p. 67
Les Lalannes, exh. cat., Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1975, p. 10
Gilles de Bure, Intérieurs, Le Mobilier Français 1965-1979, Paris, 1983, p. 52
Daniel Marchesseau, Les Lalannes, Paris, 1998, pp. 36 and 58-59
Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne, exh. cat., Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, 2006, p. 90

Condition

Overall very good condition. The two sheep offered in this lot have been re-flocked with new wool a number of years ago. Both the wool selected and the execution is consistent with the original design. The color of the wool is off-white and the color in the catalogue illustration is accurate. The head of the sheep is a rare variant executed in patinated electro-plated copper, and therefore the uneven edges and bumpy surfaces are inherent in the making and not a later condition issue. There are minute areas, visibly in the catalogue illustration, where the natural metal is visible. With a small light colored discoloration to the top of the sheep’s nose, also visible in the catalogue illustration. The feet are executed in the patinated aluminum and with some very light rubbing to the finish and few minute surface scratches. Both sheep retain the original wooden castors. This pair of the sheep dates within a few years of the introduction of the design and are a rare and early variant, only produced in the late 1960s.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

The present lot, along with two others in this auction, (Lots 60 and 129), is from the collection of Suzy Furman, an accomplished Palm Beach artist, dealer, and collector.  Educated at Wadsworth Athenaeum and the Norton School of Art, Furman showed her bold and innovative abstract paintings extensively throughout the country in the late 1960s.  Alongside Ron Thompson and Bill Woods, she founded the Norton Gallery Workshop and later the Contemporary Gallery in Palm Beach, a pioneering regional space established to promote emerging contemporary artists.

 

As a collector, Suzy Furman was an early enthusiast of works by François-Xavier Lalanne, acquiring these sheep within the first few years after their introduction to the market. The present examples are also a rare variant where the sheep’s head is hand-produced in electro-formed copper over wood.  The majority of examples of the model appear with heads executed in patinated aluminum.