Lot 328
  • 328

Paul Klee

Estimate
800,000 - 1,200,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Paul Klee
  • Kleiner Gartengeist (Small Garden Ghost)
  • Signed Klee (lower left)
  • Watercolor and pencil on paper
  • 18 7/8 by 12 in.
  • 48 by 30.5 cm

Provenance

Alfred Flechtheim, Berlin (on commission for sale from the artist in 1929)
Galerie Simon (Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler), Paris (on commission for sale from the artist in 1934)
Contempora Art Circle (P. L. Wiener, J. B. Neumann), New York (on commission for sale from the artist in 1934)
New Art Circle (J. B. Neumann), New York (on commission for sale from the artist in 1935)
Galerie Simon (Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler) , Paris (on commission for sale from the artist in 1936)
Roland Balaÿ & Louis Carré, Paris (acquired by 1938)
Olga Carré, Paris (her estate sale Piasa/Artcurial, Paris, December 9, 2002, lot 20)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Exhibited

Berlin, Gakerie Albert Flechtheim, Paul Klee, 1929, no. 147
Frankfurt, Stadtisches Kunstinstitut, Von Abbild Zum Sinnbild, 1931, no. 119
Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum, Paul Klee, 1936, no. 22
Paris, Galerie Roland Balay et Louis Carre, Paul Klee, Tableaux et Aquarelles de 1917 a 1937, 1938, no.13
L'Isle-sur-sa-Sorgue, Campredon Art et Culture, Louis Carré Histoire et Actualité, 2000

Literature

The Paul Klee Foundation & Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, eds., Paul Klee Catalogue Raisonné 1927-1930, vol. V, Bern, 2001, no. 4947, illustrated p. 356

Condition

In very good condition. The colors are fresh and vibrant. The yellow has a bit more richness and brilliance than the printed catalogue. The red torso is slightly more purple in person. Small studio stains along the edge look to be original to the work. There is a hard crease along the lower section of yellow triangle which is visible in the printed catalogue. Tiny tear near upper left edge. The handmade sheet has visible blue fibers inherent to the work. The colors are very lively.
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

Executed during the height of the artist's involvement with Walter Gropius' Bauhaus, this work accentuates the unique iconography that personifies Klee's strongest works. The bright palette and layered tonalites of Kleine Gartengeist show us the artist's unmatched ability with works on paper while the composition represents his unique ability to approach the boundaries of figural abstraction. The bold blocks of color in this work typify his unparalleled success as a colorist and his boundless imagination pervades the vivacious composition. Andrew Kagan writes, "Klee's greatness as a colorist and his gifts as a draftsman embrace a truly extraordinary range and diversity. His seemingly tireless experimentation and his astounding inventiveness are among his distinctive characteristics... It must be understood that [Klee's] ultimate ambitions embraced the concept of an art that would resolve all apparent contradiction, an art that would reconcile all dualities and oppositions—in other words, an art of ultimate synthesis. 'Truth,' he declared, 'demands that all elements be present at once" (Andrew Kagan, "Klee's Development," Paul Klee at the Guggenheim Museum (exhibition catalogue), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1993, p. 26).

Fig. 1 Paul Klee, a selection of the fifty hand puppets created for his son Felix, 1916-25, reproduced in Paul Klee, Hand puppets, published by the Zentrum Paul Klee in 2006, photo by Domonique Uldry, Bern