- 13
Andrew Wyeth 1917 - 2009
Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 USD
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Description
- Andrew Wyeth
- The Observatory
- signed Andrew Wyeth (upper left)
- watercolor and pencil on paper
- 30 by 22 inches
- (76.2 by 55.9 cm)
- Painted in 1978.
Provenance
Coe Kerr Gallery, New York
Galerie de Tours, Carmel, California
Acquired by the present owner from the above, circa 1985
Galerie de Tours, Carmel, California
Acquired by the present owner from the above, circa 1985
Exhibited
Tokyo, Japan, Mitsukoshi Main Store; Sapporo, Japan, Mitsukoshi Sapporo Branch Store; Kobe, Japan, Mitsukoshi Kobe Branch Store, Andrew Wyeth, October-December 1978, illustrated in color
Condition
This work is in very good condition. The paper is hinged to the mat at the upper center and right and left corners. There is a waviness to the paper that is inherent to the artist's materials and technique.
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.
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
Andrew Wyeth first began experimenting with watercolor as a teenager after seeing a group of watercolors by Winslow Homer. He found a freedom of expression in the medium that he felt revealed an elusive side of nature and allowed him to spontaneously record the world around him. The Observatory depicts the back window of Wyeth’s Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania studio, where he painted many of his most important works from 1940 until 2008.
Thomas Hoving notes, “Subject matter has always been of paramount importance to Wyeth, especially when it comes to him unexpectedly, or, as he likes to put it, ‘through the back door.’ He may start a scene and then see something days or weeks later that will make him completely change the first impression and, of course, the picture. He thoroughly believes…that you never have to add life to a scene. If you quietly sit and wait long enough, patiently enough, life will come—‘sort of an accident in the right spot.’ Such ‘accidents’ are the foundations on which the bulk of Wyeth’s best visions are based…For the most part only the picture’s titles offer any clues to the vivid experience behind an inspiration” (Andrew Wyeth: Autobiography, Boston, Massachusetts, 1995, p. 11).
The familiar nature of the subject matter in The Observatory suggests one of Wyeth’s accidental and patient visions. As Wyeth himself observes, “I’m not much for the new thing or the new object. I like to go back again and again because I think you can always find new things. There are always new emotions in going back to something that I know very well. I suppose this is very odd, because most people have to find fresh things to paint. I’m actually bored by fresh things to paint. To make an old thing I’ve seen for years seem fresh is much more exciting to me” (Thomas Hoving, Two Worlds of Andrew Wyeth: Kuerners and Olsons, 1976, New York, p. 39).
Thomas Hoving notes, “Subject matter has always been of paramount importance to Wyeth, especially when it comes to him unexpectedly, or, as he likes to put it, ‘through the back door.’ He may start a scene and then see something days or weeks later that will make him completely change the first impression and, of course, the picture. He thoroughly believes…that you never have to add life to a scene. If you quietly sit and wait long enough, patiently enough, life will come—‘sort of an accident in the right spot.’ Such ‘accidents’ are the foundations on which the bulk of Wyeth’s best visions are based…For the most part only the picture’s titles offer any clues to the vivid experience behind an inspiration” (Andrew Wyeth: Autobiography, Boston, Massachusetts, 1995, p. 11).
The familiar nature of the subject matter in The Observatory suggests one of Wyeth’s accidental and patient visions. As Wyeth himself observes, “I’m not much for the new thing or the new object. I like to go back again and again because I think you can always find new things. There are always new emotions in going back to something that I know very well. I suppose this is very odd, because most people have to find fresh things to paint. I’m actually bored by fresh things to paint. To make an old thing I’ve seen for years seem fresh is much more exciting to me” (Thomas Hoving, Two Worlds of Andrew Wyeth: Kuerners and Olsons, 1976, New York, p. 39).