Robert Indiana

Private Collection (acquired directly from the artist)
Christie's, New York, May 17, 2001, lot 132
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

This work is in very good and sound condition overall. All of the elements are stable and secure. All surface inconsistencies appear inherent to the medium and the artist's working method. The surface of the iron wheel is oxidized and appears inherent to the found nature of the medium.
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.

Upon his arrival in New York, and propelled by poverty like many other artists, Robert Indiana took up residence in a small corner of Manhattan called Coenties Slip, an inexpensive and then forgotten part of old New York's commercial waterfront. With Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage and Barnett Newman already occupying buildings around the corner, Indiana found his own studio alongside his friends Agnes Martin, Jack Youngerman and Ellsworth Kelly. A set of peers with whom he would later form the Coenties Slip group, the group was crucial in inspiring the aesthetic of 1960's cool in film, fashion and design.  Proving to be of crucial significance to his future career, Indiana's move not only set the style of his painting but also provided him with a source of inspiration. 

With its longstanding history, something that provided Indiana with immense satisfaction in his choice of residence, dating back to the founding of New Amsterdam (New York) in 1626, Coenties was one of the busiest and broadest of the slips. Overlooking the East River, Brooklyn Heights, abandoned piers 5, 6, 7 and 8, Indiana drew inspiration from his surrounding environment. In 1959, Indiana started to create a series of rubbed gesso paintings on panels of plywood.  These compositions of circles juxtaposed with square and rectangular areas "explored the duality of figure and ground," (William Katz in Simon Salama-Caro Gallery, Robert Indiana: Early Sculpture 1960-1962, London, 1991, p. 13).

A significant example of Robert Indiana's earlier sculptural pieces, FOUR is an assemblage and presents in a beautifully rendered vertical format the materials available at the time, mostly wharf timber and detritus of the post-war industrial boom.  Created alongside another seminal body of work, sculptures he referred to as Herms which were later included in the "Art of Assemblage" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1961, Indiana occupied himself almost exclusively with making constructions during the years 1960 and early 1961.  These seminal works from pre-formed materials which were worn and stained with age were the means by which "Indiana was able to incorporate reality into his sculpture without imitating it." (Simon Salama-Caro Gallery, Robert Indiana: Early Sculpture 1960-1962 (London, Simon Salama-Caro Gallery, 1991), p. 12). Often leaving the wood splintered and unpainted, the early sculptures sprang from the materials found right outside Indiana's studio in Coenties Slip and were crucial to his development as an artist. Like his paintings these sculptures must be understood in terms of their rich allusiveness and private codings. Extending one step further and incorporating the numbers into this piece, Indiana connects his Herms to this construction.  Using the numeral four, said to have been the date when Hermes (God of communication) was born, the number four is the first composite number and has traditional associations with the square and the cross. In numerology the number four signifies reality and earth, whereas the orb, which encircles both numbers and squares in the present work, is a traditional symbol of life-everlasting.