Richard Serra

Leo Castelli Gallery, New York (acquired from the artist, LC #D-148)
Private Collection, Antwerp (acquired from the above in March 1989)
Galerie Ronny Van de Velde, Antwerp
Private Collection, Paris
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1994

New York, Blum Helman Gallery, Johns, Kelly, Serra, May - June 1982
Chicago, The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Large Scale Drawings by Sculptors, January - February 1985
Antwerp, Galerie Ronny Van de Velde, The Future of the Object - A Selection of American Art: Minimalism and After, May - July 1990, p. 211, illustrated

Hans Janssen, ed., Richard Serra: Drawings-Zeichnungen 1969-1990, Bern, 1990, cat. no. 215, pp. 140 and 235, illustrated

This work is in excellent condition. There are a number of artist's pinholes at intervals along all edges, as well as a very small number to the sheet at center right of the black shape. The sheet undulates slightly as is to be expected with the nature of the material. Close inspection shows an intermittent thin ½" line of discoloration to the right of the top edge and top of the right edge of the black area as a result of oil separation from the oilstick medium that is inherent to the nature of the media and the artist's working process. The hand-cut top and bottom edges of the sheet are slightly uneven, again as a reulst of the artist's process. There is a small network of extremely faint hairline drying cracks located 37 – 41 ¼" up from the bottom and 2 ½ - 7" in from the right edge of the sheet. Very close inspection shows an extremely light vertical rub 15 ½ - 17" up from the bottom and 7 ¾" in from the right edge. The sheet is mounted to board and framed in a blonde wood frame.
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.

“Few artists have pushed drawing to such sculptural and even architectural extremes as Richard Serra. He has magnified the medium with immense black shapes that sit directly on the wall, their absorptive darkness forcing the space around them to expand or contract. Using black oil paintstick, he has exaggerated drawing’s physical surface, creating expanses of texture that have the rough tactility of bark, or massing dark, roiled spheres as thick as mud pies.”
Roberta Smith, “Sketches From the Man of Steel,” New York Times, April 14, 2011