Joan Miró

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York (acquired from the artist)

Donald Morris Gallery, Inc., Detroit (acquired from the above)

Dr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Gosman, Toledo, Ohio (acquired from the above in 1965 and sold: Christie's, New York, November 10, 1982, lot 7)

Donald Morris Gallery, Inc. Detroit (acquired at the above sale)

Maurice and Margo Cohen, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (acquired from the above in 1982)

Sale: Christie's, New York, November 9, 1999, lot 444

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Detroit,  Donald Morris Gallery, Joan Miró: Watercolors and Gouaches, 1965, no. 17, illustrated

University of Pittsburgh, The Gosman Collection, 1969, no. 35, illustrated

Madison, University of Wisconsin, Elvehjem Art Center, 19th & 20th Century Art from Collections of Alumni and Friends, 1970, no. 89, illustrated in the catalogue

Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Contemporary Art: The Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Jospeh A. Gosman, 1972, no. 34, illustrated in the catalogue

The sheet is hinged to the mat. There is some slight soiling to the sheet from handling and faint traces of an old adhesive towards the center of the top edge. The edges of the drawing bear the following handling marks: three repaired tears along the right edges and a small crease and repaired tear at the lower left corner. There is also an expertly repaired restoration, with some sections where the sheet appears to have broken, extending from the upper left to the lower right corner. Minor breaks in the restoration, occurring in black pastel of the figure's shoulder, have been retouched.
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.

Miró completed this impressive composition in Barcelona in 1943, not long after setting up his studio in the house where he was born.  He had spent the duration of the war prior to this period in Palma de Mallorca, where he completed his celebrated Constellations series as an homage to the brilliant night sky above the Mediterranean.  Miró continued to incorporate elements of this theme into his production for the next several decades, concentrating on the elegance of calligraphic lines punctuated by bursts of primary colors.  But it is in the compositions from the 1940s that this aesthetic is at its freshest and most inspired.

Miró worked almost exclusively with works on paper during the war, experimenting with the applications of various media.  He was evidently so impressed with the results of these mixed-media compositions that he continued the practice of combining gouaches, oils, inks and various temperas long after he resumed working on canvas in 1944.