Jean-Paul Lemieux 1904 - 1990

Private Collection, California

Guy Robert, Lemieux, Toronto, 1978, pp. 119 and 185

This work is in excellent condition. Small touch-ups are evident in the right side of girl's face under UV.
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.

From 1956 on, Lemieux's art stripped away all superfluous decoration, retaining only the elements he remembered in dealing with the nostalgia of an era.

He has commented:
For a long time I painted from life, but I don't anymore. I paint in my studio, an inner world...The same goes for people. I paint them from memory. When I get tired of landscapes, I paint figures. I never use models; I couldn't.

We view Jeune Fille close up placed in a more of less non existent background. It is a spare, restrained portrait, quiet, relaxed, yet enlivened by the polka dot dress, red lips and impish grin.

Lemieux adds:
I've always loved old yellow photographs, family albums.  When I am in my studio, confronted by the empty canvas, something appears in my mind's eye from very far away. People appear, hazily, people from my own inner world. It's through memory that I make them my own and elimate the details at the same time.