Jean Dubuffet

Acquis directement auprès de l'artiste en 1982

Max Loreau, Catalogue des travaux de Jean Dubuffet, Théâtres de mémoire, Fascicule XXXII, Paris, 1982, p.179, no.416, illustré

The colours are fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration although the overall tonality is less pink in the original work. This work is in excellent condition.
"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."

In a 1994 interview, Thomas Messer reflected on his 27 year tenure as director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: “In terms of more or less tangible accomplishments, one would have to look at the collection as I found it and as I left it, with perhaps the Thannhauser collection, the Hilla Rebay collection, and the Peggy Guggenheim collection as centerpieces in terms of massive enrichments….I came to the Guggenheim as a European at a time at which the great emphasis upon American post-war art needed a balance by way of the inclusion of neglected European achievements. And it was natural for me to provide such a balance.” Born in Bratislava (now Slovakia, formerly Czechoslovakia) in 1920 to an art historian father and a mother with a musical background, Mr. Messer relished a youth spent in what he called a politically and culturally marvelous epoch, replete with cultural opportunities and an “ambiance of not only political, but social freedom”.  Interestingly, his formal education then deviated dramatically from his natural inclination towards art when he was sent to study chemistry, eventually enrolling in Thiel College in Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1942.   Mr. Messer would not formally study art history until 1946 when, following a European tour of duty as an interrogator for military intelligence for the United States Army,  he took a class in general Egyptian art at the Sorbonne.  He would eventually earn an MA in Art History from Harvard University in 1951. Mr. Messer’s stewardship of the Guggenheim began in 1961, following directorships at the Roswell Museum of History and Art, the American Federation of the Arts, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.  Having just been installed in Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark cylindrical design two years prior, the museum was very much an institution in transition.  Still in the midst of a curatorial departure from the early mandate on non-objective painting, the Guggenheim was financed solely by its original endowment, and boasted both a small staff and modest publication schedule.  Furthermore, while the dramatic new space had increased the museum’s visibility, it presented significant installation challenges. Mr. Messer ambitiously confronted the task of presenting works of art in this unique space with his 1962 exhibition of sculpture from the Hirshhorn which was universally regarded as a triumph.  He continued to expand and grow the museum’s exhibition program with important shows of work by artists such as Joseph Beuys, Antonio Tapies, and Pierre Alechinsky, as well as continuous retrospectives of work by artists such as John Chamberlain, Jean Dubuffet, Alberto Giacometti, and Max Ernst.  Of this latter group he remarked:  “these artists were important to me—they were part of the exploration of modern art history.”  But it was the transformative acquisition of two important collections secured by Messer – the Thannhauser Collection, assembled by Justin K. Thannhauser, included Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early modern masterpieces, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, as well as the Venice palazzo that housed it – which indelibly changed the footprint of the Guggenheim and secured its international reputation. In addition to the artists whose work he championed and even befriended, such as Dubuffet, Chillida, and Barnet Newman, among so many others, Thomas Messer also successfully enlarged the museum’s professional stuff, creating a generation of Guggenheim curators who are forever indebted to his leadership.  As he reflected back on those he supported during his tenure and their subsequent accomplishments, he remarked “This means the young people whom I brought in to the profession made, in their subsequent assignments, important contributions that were most gratifying to me.” 

Lisa Dennison