Léon Delachaux

Evelyn Ellis Smith, Oakland, California (in 1917)
Thence by descent (and sold, Christie's, New York, June 5, 1997, lot 53, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale

This painting has been lined, and the colors are clean and bright. Under UV, inpainting fluoresces along the right edge to address frame abrasion, in spots around the banjo player's proper right leg and to the left of the figure in the background, and in isolated dots around the hanging plant.
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.

Delachaux was raised by a family of clockmakers in the Neuchâtel valley of Switzerland; after early years of training, he accepted a position as an engraver at Tiffany, sailing for America in 1872 at the age of twenty-two.  The art galleries of Philadelphia’s World’s Fair of 1876 inspired Delachaux to enroll at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, studying under the great American Realist painter Thomas Eakins. From 1879 through 1881, Delachaux successfully exhibited at the National Academy of Design in New York, and both the subject and style of The Banjo Player marks it as an American composition.  Though becoming a naturalized United States citizen, the artist moved to France in 1883, where he completed further study in the studio of Pascale Adolphe Jean Dagnan-Bouveret (see lot 2).