Lot 115
  • 115

Willem de Kooning

Estimate
350,000 - 450,000 USD
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Description

  • Willem de Kooning
  • Study for Pink Angels
  • signed
  • pastel and graphite on vellum
  • 13 3/4 by 16 1/4 in. 35 by 41.3 cm.
  • Executed circa 1945.

Provenance

Martha Jackson Gallery, New York
Society for Ethical Culture, New York 
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1958

Exhibited

New York, Queens College, 25th Anniversary Show: Long Island Artists, November 1962
Rockville Centre, B'nai Sholom, A Loan Exhibition, 1963
New York, Allan Stone Gallery, Willem de Kooning: Retrospective Drawings 1936 - 1963, February 1964
Darmstadt, Mathildenhoe, "I. Internationale der Zeichnung," September - November 1964

Condition

This work is in very good condition overall. There are 3 artist's pinholes at the top center of the sheet. The edges of the sheet have discolored slightly with age. The sheet is creased all over with scattered graphite smudges, inherent to the artist's working method and chosen medium. There is light evidence of foxing. There are scattered pinpoint media accretions, presumably from the time of execution. The sheet is hinged verso at the corners to the matte. Framed under Plexiglas.
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

This work is one of only four studies made relating to perhaps the most significant de Kooning painting: Pink Angels. This iconic work and its related series are emblematic of de Kooning's first radical steps in digesting the influence of Pablo Picasso, Surrealism and Arshile Gorky. In the expressive floating forms, painterly drips and lessening of the distinction between figure and ground one finds the fertile kernels of Abstract Expressionism. Truly a seminal work, in Study for Pink Angels, one finds the genesis of the most important American art historical movement of the 20th Century cementing de Kooning's status as its commander-in-chief.