Salvador Dalí

Private Collection, USA (acquired directly from the artist)
Thence by descent to the present owner

The canvas is wax lined. This lining was probably added to address the very thin layer of craquelure visible in the sky, now stable. The artist used a very thin paint layer with layers of glazing. Some very minor frame abrasion is visible along the upper and the right edges. The artists pencil underdrawing is visible in her dress and sweater. When examined under UV light a handful of pinhead size dots are visible just above the sitter's head, in the blue sky at upper right and below the horse and rider at centre left. Another line of inpainting covers a surface scratch on the sitter's left hand. Overall the work is in very good condition. Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the red in her dress is lighter and brighter, and the sweater is pinker in life than in the catalogue.
"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."

C. Z. Guest was a reigning figure in New York and Palm Beach society for decades.  She was known for her many superlative attributes: she was repeatedly featured on the international best-dressed lists, a skilled horsewoman and an authority on gardening, but most of all, she was a great beauty.  Salvador Dali's commissioned portrait of her perfectly conveys this quintessentially American beauty which she represented to a generation. 

The writer Jill Gerston once described her as follows: 'With her pale skin, blue eyes, ash-blond hair and trim figure, she is cut from the same cool, silky cloth as Grace Kelly. It is a patrician beauty that is indigenous to socially registered enclaves like Palm Beach and Southampton, a sporty, outdoorsy look that eschews makeup, hairspray and anything trendy. She has an outspoken, coolly self-assured manner and a throaty, well-modulated voice with a trace of a British accent.'

Born Lucy Douglas Cochrane, her brother's inability to pronounce 'sissy' (short for sister) led to her now famous moniker, C.Z. Brought up in a prominent Boston family to have an impeccable resume as a debutante, the sitter for this beautiful portrait was a fascinating person who loved testing the boundaries of social convention, and who used her position to mingle with the most glittering cultural set of her day.  She also had a bit of a rebellious streak. As written in her 2003 New York Times obituary; 'She appeared in a 1943 revue on the roof of the Ritz-Carlton in Boston and in a revival of the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway in 1944. She spent six months in Hollywood attending 20th Century Fox's studio school but never appeared in a film.  ''My ambition was to be a successful enough actress to get myself thrown out of the Social Register,'' she once said. ''I had no talent at all but I enjoyed every minute of my experience.'' It was also during this period that she took off for Mexico, where Diego Rivera painted her as a nude odalisque. When she became engaged, her portrait, which had reportedly been displayed in a Mexico City bar, was bought by her fiancé's family.'

In 1947 she married the dashing Winston Frederick Churchill Guest, heir to the Phipps steel fortune, star polo player and a second cousin of Winston Churchill.  The ceremony was held at the home of Ernest Hemingway in Cuba, with Hemingway acting as best man.

Cecil Beaton (who illustrated her first book on gardening) and Truman Capote were among the many celebrities close to Mrs. Guest.  The photographer Slim Aarons captured her in glamorous surroundings, making her a style icon with his now famous image of her wearing a crisp white romper against the bright blue sea on her Palm Beach estate. He said of her in George Plimpton's book Truman Capote: 'I am always asked who the people are that I most liked to photograph.  The two who come immediately to mind are Babe Paley and CZ Guest...I still maintain that everybody wanted to be a Babe Paley or a CZ Guest and it all worked down from there.'

The Guests hunted in India with the Maharaja of Jaipur and frequently hosted the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who became godparents of their children, Cornelia and Alexander.  Cornelia followed in her mother's tradition as an inspiration to artists, eventually becoming a sitter to Andy Warhol, who she had met as a child at her parents sprawling Long Island Estate, Templeton, in Old Westbury.  'My mother was a maverick,' her daughter told Harper's Bazaar in a 2010 article.  'She liked all different people. She'd go to the Factory, and I'd go with her and sit under Fred Hughes's desk.'

'She was very comfortable with all kinds of people, which is not common for a woman who's born to the purple, so to speak,' her friend Eppie Lederer (the advice columnist Ann Landers) once observed.  While she ruled among the society elite of the day, she always mingled with artists and writers, and despite her status as an icon, knew how to navigate those sometimes treacherous waters with aplomb.  Truman Capote's famously polarizing novel, Answered Prayers skewered the socialites of the day, who he called his 'swans' but she floated above the scandal, escaping censure.  Her remove from the narrative allowed her to stand by her friend in his hour of need.  Her daughter explained to Harper's Bazaar: 'She taught me that to be a lady, you have to be a tomb,' says Guest of her mother.

Templeton was both the site of many parties and gatherings, but also the place where CZ Guest relaxed, rode horses and gardened. Her effortless, outdoorsy, scrubbed style had far reaching impact: she was pictured on the cover of the July 20, 1962 issue of TIME magazine as part of an article on American society in her riding gear.

The present work captures its lovely sitter and her cool, calm demeanor, always perfectly dressed and coiffed but engaged with the viewer, intelligence obvious in her slightly mischievous expression.