David Brown Milne 1882 - 1953

The Estate of David Milne

Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto

Private Collection, Toronto

David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, David B. Milne Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Volume I, 104.90, p. 92, illustrated

This painting is in excellent condition with vibrant colours and no apparent issues under UV. It is hinged at the top using archival tape and is painted on a heavy card. It is inscribed on the reverse "Pink Facade 375".
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.

Pink Facade was painted in 1913, which was a momentous year for Milne. He was thirty-one and making quite a splash in all the exhibiting societies in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston. The culmination came with his acceptance of five paintings in the famous Armory Show that year, where his work was in the company of Matisse, Monet, Seurat, Signac, and other European iconoclasts, as well as all the American modernists.

This brilliant little watercolour is similar to the work Milne chose for the Armory Show in its aesthetic intentions and its unerring execution. Milne's technique was formidable, a trait that other painters have always admired him for. He often painted the cityscape and had almost from the outset of his career. His colour sense had developed into his own expression, and his work was by this time distinctively his own.