Joseph Cornell

The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, New York
C&M Arts, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above

London, Waddington Galleries, Joseph Cornell, March 1987, cat. no. 8, p. 9, illustrated in color
West Palm Beach, Norton Museum of Art, Joseph Cornell: Box Constructions and Collages, March - May 1997

This work is in very good and sound condition overall. Some of the elements are affixed while others move intentionally in their compartments. There is some overall wear inherent to the original state of the found objects and the artist's aesthetic, as is common for Cornell's work. The white painted wood exhibits some craquelure and yellowing from age. The paper collage on the exterior of the wood box has evidence of some light wear and handling and there is a loss on the lower right corner on the reverse of the sculpture.
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.

On the heels of the extraordinary success and attention garnered from the debut of his Aviaries at the Charles Egan gallery in 1949, Joseph Cornell continued to evolve and transform his exquisite boxes in the 1950s, producing works of exceptional quality. While maintaining the thematic white-washed habitats of the Aviaries, Cornell introduced profound change to the interior structures and their inhabitants. The present work, L’Humeur Vagabonde dating from the mid 1950’s, is an astonishingly beautiful compendium of succinctly ordered nesting places of the Dovecote series.

 

While greatly informed by the prior Aviaries, the Dovecotes alternate between boxes with a minimalist aura of absence to works populated with spectacular largesse such as the present L’Humeur Vagabonde. This evolution broadened the conceptual range of Cornell's inventiveness and enabled him to produce some of his finest work. Youth and nostalgia charmingly emote from the colorful fragments of a previous innocent life: rubber balls, wooden toy blocks, seashells, and tiny figurines among them.

 

L’Humeur Vagabonde harnesses the ephemeral and mysterious qualities at the heart and soul of Cornell's greatest works.  Standing before it, one succumbs to a youthful world of associations, yearnings and elusive meanings. Each childish yet sacrosanct vignette suspends its chosen element in guarded reverie and engages the viewer with his own memories of childish innocence.  The formalist construction of the box is of considerable significance here, as the objects project in sharp relief in the shallow space, and the drama of their stark compositional contrast is heightened by the color of the objects in contrast to the white of the grid that surrounds them.  The viewer is drawn back into the reverie of their own childhood with a sense of rediscovery.