Lot 17
  • 17

Charles Wilbert White 1918 - 1979

Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Charles White
  • Trumpet Player
  • signed CHARLES WHITE (lower right)
  • charcoal and gouache on board
  • 38 1/3 by 27 inches
  • (97.4 by 68.6 cm)
  • Executed in 1959-60.

Provenance

Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Mr. and Mrs. Max E. Youngstein, Los Angeles, California
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, by 1993
John Axelrod, Boston, Massachusetts, 1994 (acquired from the above)
Gift to the present owner, 2011

Exhibited

New York, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, African-American Art: 20th Century Masterworks, November 1993-February 1994
Boston, Massachusetts, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1994

Condition

This work is in excellent condition. There are four small losses along extreme center right edge of the support.
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.

Catalogue Note

An active figure in the Civil Rights Movement, Charles Wilbert White is best known as an astute observer and chronicler of the African-American experience throughout American history. White explored the imagery of the jazz musician several times in his oeuvre. In the present work, he presents a trumpet player in a brief moment of reprieve, before he once again will take up his instrument. A large-scale portrait in gouache and charcoal–a media combination typical of the artist's technique during this period–Trumpet Player not only demonstrates White's keen attention to naturalistic detail, but also his assured handling of the charcoal medium.