Josef Sudek

pigment print, annotated in pencil and with a partial stamp that reads 'mit gelblichem Ton [with yellowish tone]' on the reverse, 1950-56

Estate of the photographer

Collection of Anna Fárová, Prague

Collection of Manfred Heiting, Amsterdam

Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, 1997

Anna Fárová, Josef Sudek, Poet of Prague: A Photographer's Life (Aperture, 1990), p. 36

Manfred Heiting, ed., Josef Sudek: The Pigment Prints 1947-1954 (Amsterdam, 1994), pl. 62

Maia-Mari Sutnik, Josef Sudek: The Legacy of a Deeper Vision (Munich, 2012), p. 131

Josef Sudek, 1896-1976: Sixty Pigment Prints from the Artist's Estate (Salander O'Reilly Galleries, 1998), pl. 57

This astonishing print, with its impressive range of tones, from inky black to delicate creamy white, is in generally excellent condition. The stamp on the reverse is an information stamp affixed by the paper manufacturer.
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.
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According to Sudek authority Maia Sutnik, this composition references the Czech painter Josef Matěj Navrátil, whose work was admired by the photographer.  It is one of a series of meticulously-composed still life studies Sudek executed in the 1950s, many of which were rendered in the rich tones of the pigment process.  Sudek had experimented with pigment printing early in his career.  He renewed his interest in the process around 1940 and found in it a perfect medium for his current work.  Unlike his earlier images, however, which utilized the soft-focus effects of Pictorialism, his later pigment prints are rendered with a subtle clarity.  While these compositions are distinctly modern, the prints maintain Sudek’s ability to imbue inanimate objects with a poetic sensitivity.