Béla Kádár

Private collection, Monaco
Sale: Blanchet & Associes, Paris, 25 June 2009, lot 50
Private collection, London

Unexamined out of the frame and under glass, apart from a handful of tiny drop marks (notably two in the right-hand figure's knee, just visible in the catalogue illustration) and some very minor scattered tears at the extreme edges (notably in the extreme lower right corner of the composition and another above this near the right edge), this work is in good original condition. Presented framed and glazed, in a black-painted frame with a gilt inner accent. The colours in the catalogue illustration are overall accurate compared with the painting.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Born into a working-class family and thus unable to fund art tuition costs, Bélá Kádár learned by traversing the metropolises of Europe, assimilating the teachings of French Post-impressionists, The Eight, Cubist and Bauhaus masters, as well as followers of the Roman school and art deco. From this plethora of influences emerged the Hungarian artist’s own individual style, blossoming in ‘rich visions, the surreal truth of dreams and folk-tales, in the skyscraper and strip-lighting world of metropolitan life, and in the sheltering harmony of classical forms’ (Mariann Gergely).

Following the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, Kádár migrated to Berlin, a nucleus of artistic activity which would witness his rise to fame.  Like Kandinsky, Kádár was a favourite of Herwarth Walden, owner of the Der Sturm Gallery where the Hungarian artist had his first major one-man exhibition in 1923. It was also in this ‘headquarters of modern art’ that Kádár met Katherine Dreier, the influential patron of the arts who was responsible for establishing his international reputation by putting on two exhibitions of his work at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York.