N08792

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Lot 107
  • 107

David Smith

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 USD
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Description

  • David Smith
  • Untitled
  • tempera on paper
  • 29 7/8 by 42 3/4 in. 75.9 by 108.6 cm.
  • Executed in 1952, this work is recorded in the archives of The Estate of David Smith under number 7352.037.

Provenance

Rebecca and Candida Smith, New York
Sotheby's, London, The Whitechapel Auction, July 1, 1987, lot 720
PaineWebber Group Inc., New York (acquired from the above sale)
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Exhibited

Düsseldorf, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen; London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, David Smith: Sculpture and Drawings, November 1986 - January 1987, no. 71, illustrated
Houston, Museum of Fine Arts; The Detroit Institute of Art; Boston, The Museum of Fine Arts; Minneapolis Institute of Arts; San Diego Museum of Art; Miami Center for the Arts, Art Works: The PaineWebber Collection of Contemporary Masters, July 1995 - June 1997
London, Tate Modern, UBS Opening: Drawings from the UBS Art Collection, May - November 2007

Literature

Jack Flam, et al., The PaineWebber Art Collection, New York, 1995, p. 226, illustrated
Randall Smith, et al., "Painting vs. Profits at PaineWebber?" The Wall Street Journal, November 16, 1995, p. C1, illustrated 

Condition

This work is in very good condition overall. There are artist's pinholes around the edges and a slight undulation to the sheet inherent to the artist's working method. The left and right edges of the sheet are deckled. There is evidence of fine and stable craquelure in the thickly painted areas. There are also scattered small tears at the edges of the sheet which appear to have been repaired as the sheet has been laid down to linen. Framed under Plexiglas.
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

David Smith's artistic career defies easy labeling. While often associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement, his development ran closely parallel, but rarely overlapped with its history. Generally considered a sculptor, Smith's body of work and his effortless ability to switch between media demonstrates the fact that, for him, the division separating sculpture from painting was artificial. Painting and sculpting were tools for expressing the same creative impulse. Recognizing the desire to label him a sculptor, Smith responded, "I never conceived of myself as anything other than a painter because my work came right through the raised surface, and color and objects applied to the surface." Regardless of the labels applied, he is widely considered to be the leading sculptor of his generation.

The close relationship between Smith's sculpture and painting can be seen in the consistency of visual concerns and motifs across media. Smith's frequent use of paint on his steel sculptures supports the conclusion that his conception of "painting" was not limited to canvas. Moreover, Smith did not treat his sculptures as purely three-dimensional objects. Rather, he stated that his sculptures consisted of a series of two-dimensional pictorial planes that prioritized points of view. Speaking in 1952, Smith stated that, in his sculpture, he preferred "open delineation and transparent form – so that the front views through the back." Smith achieved that goal in Untitled (1952), which is comprised of a finely tuned lattice of bold painted strokes that activate the entire canvas. As a result, it is reminiscent of the sculptures' compositions that give them a feeling of light and airiness belying their physical weight.

Untitled marries the all-over field painting of Pollock with Smith's interest in concave and convex forms and circles that first manifested itself in the early 1950s. The skeins of paint spread across the page create a variety of curves, circles and angles that at times suggest the calligraphy of an unknown language or figures dancing in space. The gestural quality of Untitled is emphasized through the use of his own medium, a mixture of egg yolks and India ink.  Smith's confident brushwork is consistent with the improvisational and spontaneous style that he used welding many of the most iconic sculptures of the 20th century.