Maurice Utrillo

Level Collection, Paris (and sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, March 3, 1922, lot 121)
Carstairs Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above on December 10, 1952

Washington, D.C., The Phillips Gallery, A Loan Exhibition of Early Paintings by Maurice Utrillo, 1953-54, no. 12
New York, Wildenstein & Co., Utrillo, A Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of Hadassah Medical Relief Association, Inc., 1957, no. 5, illustrated in the catalogue

Marius Mermillon, Maurice Utrillo, illustrated in the catalogue pl. 24 (dated 1910)
"Utrillo's Charmed Simplicity: The Work of his Early Years On Display at the Wildenstein Galleries," in Arts, XXXI, no. 5, February 1957, illustrated p. 21
Paul Pétridès, L'Oeuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo, vol. I, Paris, 1974, no. 74, illustrated p. 123
Alfred Werner, Maurice Utrillo, New York, 1981, illustrated in color pl. 14

This work on board has been cradled. The board is flat, well supported and in very good condition. This painting is an example of Utrillo's complex and unique technique, which has survived beautifully. While the varnish is slightly uneven and the paint layer possibly slightly dirty, restoration is not necessarily recommended. The painting is in beautiful condition. The above condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
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.

The urban landscape was of great fascination to Utrillo and constitutes the vast majority of subject matter in his oeuvre, yet the present image stands out for its exploration of contemporary industrial life, perhaps a response to Eugène Atget’s concurrent photo-documentation of Paris. The mystery exuded by this sparsely populated scene is reminiscent of Giogrio de Chirico’s metaphysical paintings, a connection enhanced by the towering chimney stacks in the background. As Carlo Santini expands, "Utrillo is a poet: the lonely, isolated poet of a reality that is sometimes trivial in the extreme, sometimes majestic and sumptuous. Utrillo has no need of any special figurative setting: walls, grilles, hoardings, trees, lamp-posts, cobblestones, rows of houses, cathedral towers, pavements, fences, factory chimneys, and great dark windows all take their place in his work with their own peculiar expressiveness. These and many other objects are imbued with feeling, sometimes with drama; they suggest the passage of time, the waning of life, the desperate melancholy of certain times and seasons" (quoted in Modern Landscape Painting, London, 1972, p. 53).