Lot 210
  • 210

Alfred Jensen

Estimate
70,000 - 90,000 USD
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Description

  • Alfred Jensen
  • Au Debut du Printemps
  • signed, dated 1975, titled and inscribed on the reverse of each panel
  • oil on canvas, in four panels
  • 74 by 148 in.
  • 188 by 376 cm.

Provenance

Private Collection (acquired directly from the artist)
Christie's, New York, May 6, 1986, lot 47
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Exhibited

Buffalo, Albright-Knox Gallery; New York, The New Museum; Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art; La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art; Boulder, The University of Colorado Art Gallery; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Alfred Jensen Paintings and Diagrams from the Years 1957-1977, January-October 1978, cat. no. 41, p. 72, illustrated in black and white

Condition

Painting is in four panels divided in two sections by a strip frame. In good condition aside from surface dust. Pigment separation in blacks and browns. Some minute scattered cracquelure. Left panel: white accretion lower left at edge; small area of loss in blue at bottom edge. Center left panel: scattered minute areas of loss along adjoining edge; white accretion at center in black. Center right panel: loss lower left at extreme corner and lower right. Brown accretion center right. Right panel: white accretion lower left and upper left at edge.
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

Alfred Jensen's paintings of vivid textured patterns were partly inspired by the fabrics of Guatemala, where he was born.  A no less appreciable influence was his study of Goethe's Zür Farbenlehre, an analysis of color theory, which he was encouraged to read by the French painter Auguste Herbin, whom he met in 1950.
His dedication to a career in painting began unevenly; he was for many years more involved in collecting art than creating it  However, the contacts he made, and the modern art to which he was exposed, were excellent preparations for the art which proved to be his ultimate calling.