Tom Wesselmann

Regina Biernoff Granne, New York
Private Collection, New York

Long Beach, California State University Art Galleries; Athens, Gallery of Ohio University; Kansas City, Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Tom Wesselmann: The Early Years, Collages 1959-1962, November 1974 - March 1975
Tübingen, Kunsthalle; Brussels, Palais de Beaux-Arts; Berlin, Altes Museum; Munich, Museum Villa Stuck; Rotterdam, Kunsthal; Speyer, Historisches Museum der Pfalz; Paris, Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain; Madrid, Fundación Juan March; Barcelona, Palau de la Virreina; Lisbon, Culturgest; Nice, Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Wesselmann: A Retrospective Survey 1959-1993, April 1994 - September 1997, no. 3, illustrated

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of light wear overall due to age, particularly towards the edges of the collaged paper. Framed under Plexiglas.
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.

"What got me about Matisse - and put me on my guard at the same time - was how overtly, stunningly beautiful his paintings were. They were exciting. You couldn't look at a Matisse without feeling some kind of excitement. You just couldn't do it!" – Tom Wesselmann

Tom Wesselmann, one of the most seminal pop artists of the past century, openly expressed the influence of art historical models in his work. The artist's wide range of historical referents includes Flemish masters like Van Eyck, Van Der Goes and the great modern master Henri Matisse.

The present work, aptly titled, After Matisse, is a marquee example of one of the artist's earliest depictions of the female nude, which would develop into his famous Sunset Nude series just one year later. As the title suggests, compositional layout, decorative treatment of the environment and the compressed spatial compositions reference Matisse's key contributions to art history. For Wesselmann, his surface-based collages typically included both objects, usually found in middle-class American households—towel holders, clocks, shelves or flowers, along with the nude figure, in one form or another. Eroticism, portrayed through his depiction of the nude was an instrument to accomplish a new type of confidence without resorting to the gestural physicality most often used by the previous generation of artists. In After Matisse, Wesselmann seeks to challenge the boundaries of nudity in 1960's American imagery by informing his canvas with the lessons and formalities of revered masters. Thus, in a perfect marriage of past and present, Wesselmann discovers a powerful and innovative way of exploring and expressing the female form.