Jean Arp

Acquired by the family of the present owners in 1952

Bern, Kunsthalle, Hans Arp, Kurt Schwitters, 1956, no. 31

Bernd Rau, Hans Arp, Die Reliefs, Œuvre-Katalog, Stuttgart, 1981, no. 228

The panel is sound and all five added elements are firmly fixed. Under UV light there are some thin lines of retouching to the edges which are visible to the naked eye. There is a very small indentation, possibly inherent to the support, and some very minor possible abrasions to the grey element. There are surface cracks running along the grain of the wood with some associated paint lifting, mainly to the panel and to the two right-hand white elements, visible to the naked eye and in the catalogue illustration. There are a few scattered spots of paint loss to the left half of the composition. The work is in overall fair condition. The illustration in the printed catalogue does not accurately represent some of the paint losses mentioned above. Please contact the department or check sothebys.com for a more representative image.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

IMPORTANT WORKS FROM A PRIVATE SWISS COLLECTION

The works from this remarkable and diverse collection reflect a lifelong passion for the arts, influenced and enriched by direct personal relationships with many of the artists such as Marino Marini, Jean Arp and Diego Giacometti. Each individual work constitutes a distinctive interpretation of Modernism, which sought to capture the vast technological, social and cultural changes that transformed the world at the beginning of the 20th Century. The family's numerous acquisitions, often acquired directly from the artist or soon after a work's completion served to deepen a fascination with modern art that burgeoned over the last half century, leaving a unique legacy of modernist works.

Among the highlights of the collection is Juan Gris' La Mandoline noire, a stunning example of the mature work of one of modernism's leading protagonists. Henri Laurens' beautifully iconic composition La Guitare provides a marvellous compendium of this seminal figure's work whilst Jean Arp's spatial and tactile compositions are a wonderful testimony to the family's sensitivity to plastic form.

Taken as a whole this collection creates a powerful snapshot of the Modernist movement taken from a highly personal angle, providing many fresh perspectives on some of the masters of 20th-century art. 

'Arp's sense of placing creates a great stirring and rustling among the forms, as if it were leaves in a summer gale and as if they were stars blown into random clusters by cosmic winds. He is a humorous and undemonstrative deviser of vast conceptions'

Robert Melville (quoted in Arp (exhibition catalogue), The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1958, p. 33)