Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Ambroise Vollard, Paris (possibly) 
Dikran Kelekian, New York (possibly) 
French Art Galleries, Inc., New York
Dr. Robert E. Eisner, Great Neck, New York (acquired from the above in February 1942)
Gabrielle Zomber (by descent from the above and sold: Christie's, New York, November 4, 2009, lot 248)
Acquired at the above sale

London, The Lefevre Gallery (Alex. Reid & Lefevre, Ltd.), Renoir, 1935, no. 26 (dated 1900)
New York, Bignou Gallery, Renoir, 1935, no. 9 (dated 1900)
New York, Arnold Seligmann-Helft Galleries, French Still Life from Chardin to Cézanne, Loan exhibition for the benefit of the Quaker Emergency Service, 1947

Ambroise Vollard, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Tableaux, pastels et dessins, vol. II, Paris, 1918, illustrated p. 35
Guy Patrice & Michel Dauberville, Renoir, Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, vol. III, Paris, 2010, no. 2648, illustrated p. 553

This work is in very good condition. The canvas has an old French lining which does not compromise the texture of the original paint. The paint layer is clean. Under UV light: there are no retouches within the fruit, counter or dish, but there are a few spots of retouching in the upper right and upper left corners. These probably address slightly exaggerated thinness which whilst an inherent part of the artist's process, may have been distracting.
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.

Nature morte au compotier is a superb example of Renoir’s achievement in the still-life genre. Painted circa 1890, the picture epitomizes the artist's soft palette and airy yet precise handling of the medium. His profound skill of taking the commonplace and transforming such objects into cause for celebration and obsession is exemplified in other works from the same period, for example Poires et pommes (see fig. 1).

Discussing Renoir's extraordinary contribution, Téodor de Wyzewa wrote in 1903: "And there are, in all the arts, men of a different kind, who not only see and feel things differently from ourselves, but who, by instinct, feel and see things as more beautiful, with more light, or color, or purity and harmony. Involuntarily, inevitably, they transfigure the objects they perceive; and their works do not give us the impression of reality at all, but ravish us with a mysterious and delightful beauty. All these painters move us only because external things appear more beautiful to them than to the rest of mankind, that is, more bedecked with an indefinable grace to whose allure, sooner or later, we shall succumb. Renoir is one of them" (Téodor de Wyzewa, Peintres de Jadis et D'Aujourd'Hui, Paris, 1903, p. 222).