Leonora Carrington (1917-2011)

Edward James, West Dean, Sussex
Sale: Christie's, New York, Modern Paintings and Drawings from the Edward James Collection, November 26, 1988, lot 89, illustrated in color
Sale: Christie's, New York, Latin American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, November 21, 1989, lot 28, illustrated in color
Private Collection, Europe
Sale: Sotheby's, Paris, Impressionist and Modern Art, December 3, 2008, lot 37, illustrated in color
Private Collection, New York

Paris, Galerie Pierre Loeb, Leonora Carrington, 1952
Sussex, Worthing Art Gallery, Impressionism to Surrealism, 1970, no. 40

This painting on board is flat. The paint layer is stable. Under ultraviolet light no retouches are visible. Carrington’s complex technique is clearly in lovely and undamaged condition here. (This condition report has been provided courtesy of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.)
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.

Bat-men once belonged to famed Anglo-American Surrealist collector Edward James. James went to Mexico in the early 1940’s, sent by his cousin, painter Bridget Tichenor (see lot 159 in this sale). Once in Mexico, he became enthralled with the country and created Las Pozas, a surrealist garden inhabited with mysterious structures leading nowhere in the tropical  jungles of Xilitla. Although they had met before the war, once in Mexico, James and Carrington became very close and became one of her best supporters  Carrington painted an allegorical portrait of James - The Dog Child of Monkton Priory, 1950,  a reference to James' surrealist home in England which was filed with works by Magritte, Ernst and Dali's famous giant lips sofa. Carrrington often played with words, and perhaps in the present painting, she is also alluding to the Bat-Man, who is a player in that most British of games, cricket.

Pedro Friedeberg's, El Torreón del Espíritu Santo at Cape Dodecahedron (Project for Edward James, Esquire), lot 192 in this sale, was comissioned by Edward James for his surrealist garden in Las Pozas.

Please note, this lot has been requested for loan  by the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin for the exhibition, Leonora Carrington, to take place September 17, 2013 – January 26, 2014