Lot 183
  • 183

John Wesley

Estimate
250,000 - 350,000 USD
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Description

  • John Wesley
  • Glance
  • signed, titled and dated 1992 on the reverse

  • acrylic on canvas
  • 60 by 72 in. 152.4 by 182.9 cm.

Provenance

Galerie Rolf Ricke, Köln
Acquired by the present owner from the above circa 1995

Exhibited

Frankfurt, Portikus; Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, John Wesley: Paintings 1963-1992, Gouaches 1961-1992 , July - October 1993, p. 34, illustrated in color 
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Extended Loan, 2003 - 2009
Venice, Fondazione Prada on San Giorgio Maggiore Island, John Wesley, June - October 2009, no. 566, pp. 346 and 523, illustrated in color

Literature

Exh. Cat., Long Island City, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, John Wesley Paintings 1961 - 2000, 2000, p. 12, illustrated

Condition

This work is in very good condition overall. The surface appears clean and fresh. There is evidence of light wear and handling at the extreme edges. There are scattered pinpoint accretions which fluoresce brightly under ultraviolet light. Under further ultraviolet light inspection, there is no evidence of restoration. Unframed.
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

"Painted cut-out-like female figures by John Wesley, Tom Wesselman's American Nudes or Mel Ramos and James Rosenquist's eroticised imageries, which objectify women in a pronounced manner, enlarging their sexual 'selling points," all functioned in a similar way. These 'period' pictures of eroticised, clichéd femininity, often unashamedly candid and exploitative, evolve from a sanitised and sterile hedonism of consumption that marked in particular the American version of 1960s and 1970s Pop Art, and found its recycling par excellence in the work of Jeff Koons during the 1990s."

(Kerstin Mey, Art and Obscenity, .B.Tauris, London, 2007, p. 28)