Grigory Gluckmann

Private Collection, Washington, D.C., circa 1970
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

This canvas has been lined using wax as an adhesive. The wax is easily reversible and it is our advice that this process be undertaken. The paint layer is clean and varnished. There is no noticeable retouching to the work except for a couple of spots in the figure's neck, and in general the condition is very good. When wax linings are reversed very often a waxy residue can be removed from the surface which in this case would provide a more lively surface. The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Grigory Gluckmann made his triumphant American debut with his 1937 exhibition in New York, and after escaping German-occupied Paris he set up his studio there before permanently moving to Los Angeles. Often compared to Edgar Degas for his Impressionistic style and particular choice of subject, Gluckmann painted portraits that underscore his profound technical skill and his exceptional ability to capture the beauty of the female form. His elegant oils depict girls and women in a variety of settings—at the ballet, on the stage, in the dressing room or at the theater—and within his canvases he utilizes a time-intensive method of layering paint to achieve a soft yet richly complex tonality, capturing an ephemeral, dream-like impression of the scenes at hand. The present lot may be counted among the artist's most striking and sensual. He employs dramatic chiaroscuro to illuminate his subject, emphasizing the stark contrast of her luminous skin against the dark folds of the surrounding drapery.