Matta (1912-2002)

crayon and graphite on heavy paper

Allan Frumkin Gallery, Chicago

There are pinholes in all four corners. The sheet is hinged to the mat in all four corners. There are slight handling smudges on all four edges. The colors are bright and vibrant and the piece is in excellent condition.
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At the beginning of World War II, many members of the European Surrealist group fled to New York, amongst them Matta, who was the youngest member. Once in New York, Matta began to exhibit at the Julien Levy Gallery and was included in the historic 1942 exhibition Artists in Exile at the Pierre Matisse Gallery along with Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Yves Tanguy, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, André Masson, Ossip Zadkine and Piet Mondrian.

 

From 1941-1942, Matta executed a series of large and lyrical drawings, some of which featured the figure of a flying bird, a wink at the nickname he gave his American born wife Anne Clark, called her Pajarito (little bird). The present work, Untitled No. 9 is an exceptionally fully realized drawing in a very fresh state.