CINDY SHERMAN | Untitled Film Still No. 17

Metro Pictures, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1985

Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen; Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia; Bilbao, Salá de Exposiciones Rekalde; Baden-Baden, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Cindy Sherman, March 1996 - March 1997, cat. no. 13, illustrated (another example exhibited)
New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Cindy Sherman: The Complete Film Stills, June - September 1997, n.p., illustrated (another example exhibited)

Cindy Sherman, Cindy Sherman, New York 1984, cat. no. 15, illustrated 
Rosalind Krauss, Cindy Sherman 1975-1993, New York 1993, p. 27, illustrated
Karen Thomson, Ed., The Blema and H. Arnold Steinberg Collection, Montreal 2015, cat. no. 120, p. 116, illustrated in color

This work is in good condition overall. The edges are unevenly cut, most noticeably along the top edge, possibly inherent to the time of execution. The print has slightly faded with time. Under close inspection, there is a line of staining visible along the bottom edge from a previous mounting, which is obscured by the top mat. There is a slight undulation to the print and the left edge is rippled. The print is cornered into the mat. 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.

“The stills are dense with suspense and danger and they all look as if they were directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The invariant subject is The Girl in Trouble, even if The Girl herself does not always know it…The girl is always alone, waiting, worried, watchful, but she is wary of, waiting for, worried about, and her very posture and expression phenomenologically imply The Other: the Stalker, the Saver, the Evil and Good who struggle for her possession...Each of the stills is about The Girl in Trouble, but in the aggregate they touch the myth we each carry out of childhood, of danger, love, and security that defines the human condition.”
Arthur C. Danto in Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Stills, New York 1990, pp. 13-14