Wassily Kandinsky

Bode Collection, Hanover (acquired in December 1925)
Galerie Lilo Schulz-Siemens, Dusseldorf
Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva
Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Dresden, Galerie Neue Kunst Fides, 1924
Wiesbaden, Neues Museum, Kandinsky, 1925, no. 31
Barmen, Ruhmeshalle; Stuttgart, Kunsthaus Schaller; Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft; Hamburg-Altona, Kunstsalon Maria Kunde & Zurich, Kunsthaus Zurich, Meister des staatlichen Bauhauses in Weimar, 1925  
Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Hannoverschem Privatbesitz, 1954, no. 73
Cologne, Galerie Gmurzynska, Die Kuntismen in Russland, 1977, no. 44, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Dusseldorf, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Kandinsky. Kleine Freuden: Aquarelle und Zeichnungen, 1992, no. 93, illustrated in colour in the catalogue 

Artist's Handlist, Watercolours, listed as 'iv 1924, 136, Streicher'
Vivian Endicott Barnett, Kandinsky Watercolours, Catalogue raisonné 1922-1944, London, 1994, vol. II, no. 693, illustrated p. 105

Executed on buff-coloured wove paper, laid down on board, the edges remain visible when framed. Apart from a very thin intermittent line of glue residue to the upper centre of the sheet, this work is in very good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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This work was executed two years after Kandinsky arrived at the Bauhaus in 1922, and exhibits the geometrically abstract style which characterises his work of this period. His stay at the Bauhaus seems to have brought out the intellectual, analytical side of his make-up, and both his writings and his work have a  scientific quality, reflecting the prevailing ethos of the school under Walter Gropius.  

In Streicher, we see the geometric forms that made occasional appearances in the work of his Russian period now dominate his compositions, and the forms are precisely and regularly articulated. Unlike his early works in which abstract forms denote external objects, these works feature abstract forms which derive their meaning from his artistic theories. Tensions between compositional elements now provide his compositions with energy and meaning, and show an artist leaving the mysticism of the Russian tradition for a more cerebral approach to his discipline.   

COMP: 424D07009_COMP
Kandinsky, Gropius and Dutch arctitect J.J. Oud at the opening of the Bauhaus exhibition in Weimar, 1923