Raoul Dufy

Germaine Dufy, Paris
Gérard Oury, Paris
Wildenstein & Co., Ltd., London
Piccadilly Gallery, London
Sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 22, 1999, lot 19
Galerie Sakai, Tokyo
Sale: Christie's, London, June 22, 2011, lot 458
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Tel Aviv, Museum of Art, Fauvism, Wild Beasts, 1996, no. 34, illustrated in the catalogue
Turin, Palazzo Bricherasio & Lodève, Musée de Lodève, I fauves e la critica, 1999, no. 64, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Raoul Dufy Le Plaisir, 2008-09, no. 24, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Maurice Laffaille, Raoul Dufy, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, vol. IV, Geneva, 1977, no. 1799, illustrated p. 305

The work is in very good condition. The canvas has been lined. The colors are fresh and vibrant. The surface has been well preserved. Under UV light: certain pigments faintly fluoresce but no inpainting is apparent.
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.

Born in Le Havre, Normandy in 1877, Dufy grew up creating art as a part-time hobby before he won a scholarship at the École des Beaux-Arts and moved to Paris in 1900. Dufy was highly influenced by the works of Impressionist masters such as Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro, but his greatest inspiration came in 1905 when he visited the Salon d’Automne. The vibrantly colored canvases of Henri Matisse, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck and others, who would be labeled Les Fauves or “wild beasts,” signaled a shift away from illusionistic description and traditional pictorial devices toward the application of paint in broad areas and bold design.

Indeed, while Dufy's earlier port scenes recall precedents set by Eugène Boudin and Claude Monet, here extraneous details are suppressed in favor of the the decorative qualities of color and line. As John Elderfield has noted, "When Dufy looked to the ocean for his subjects his special floating colorism was further developed in the isolated arcs, curves, and even circles he began to use" (John Elderfield, The "Wild Beasts:" Fauvism and Its Affinities, New York, 1976, p. 78).