Robert Indiana

Morgan Art Foundation, Geneva (acquired directly from the artist)
Waddington Galleries, London/Laurent Strouk Gallery, Paris
Collection Zadig & Voltaire, Paris
Christie's, London, October 16, 2007, lot 399
Private Collection (acquired from the above sale)
Acquired by the present owner from the above in January 2008

This work is in good and sound condition overall. There is evidence of light wear and handling around the base and the outer edges, including some intermittent pinpoint paint losses. There is an inconsistency in the paint layer with some associated losses approximately 1-inch wide on top of the letter L. Under very close inspection, there is a difference in sheen to the paint layer along the top edge of the letter L, likely a result of the work being placed outdoors. Also under very close inspection there are some extremely faint and unobtrusive scratches in scattered places on the top of the work and at the front and back sections of the blue interior area of the letter E.
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.

The ubiquitously recognized and admired Robert Indiana Love sculpture is an icon of 20th Century art history; the work stands proudly as a form of a collective signifier, symbolizing positivity and goodwill on a universal level. Despite the immutable solidity of the metal which anchors Love firmly to the ground, the spiritual element of the work was of immense importance to Indiana: “Know that the LOVE I speak of is spiritual” (Simon Salama-Caro, et. al., Robert Indiana, New York 2006, p. 72). 

Created in its first sculptural iteration in 1966, versions of Love belong in the collections of major international institutions, including the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art, and have been prominently and permanently displayed in central, public spaces such as Manhattan's Sixth Avenue and Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Plaza. In addition, a major retrospective of Indiana's work was recently held at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in 2013-2014. 

Indiana has been fascinated by the potential of signs throughout his career and his Love sculptures and similar word pieces can be viewed as a dialogue with semantic possibilities. His earliest works were inspired by commercial signage, and the Love series is undoubtedly a direct heir of these first paintings and sculptures. Indiana’s realization of the graphic potential of the sign invites associations with the work of the West Coast Pop artists, in particular that of Ed Ruscha, whose 1960s paintings were inspired by commercial and road signage. Yet it was Indiana who first elevated the word to the level of pure art object, as Carl J. Weinhardt argues: “When [Indiana] carried some of the words (and eventually the numerals) that occupied him as a painter (LOVE, ART) into the sculptural dimension, he became literally a wordsmith, fashioning the logos in metal” (Theresa Brakely, ed., Robert Indiana, New York 1990, pp. 9-10). Divorced from their original lexicographical context, the characters that form Indiana’s Love take on qualities independent of their meaning. Further, the combination of sinuous curves and sharp lines with the playfully tilted circular form of the letter 'O' creates an object that exudes a sense of exquisite grace despite its material solidity.

Like Jasper John's iconic Three Flags, Indiana's Love addresses the pop culture boom of the 20th Century while effortlessly communicating with a wider audience. The central agenda of the Pop Art phenomenon is brilliantly illustrated by Indiana's usage of industrial craftsmanship in order to configure an emblem that has become a sensational brand unto itself. By creating a symbol whose meaning and message are one and the same, his sculptures effortlessly withstand the test of time and continue to appeal to a diverse body of people around the world.

When recalling the birth of the Love series, the artist referenced memories of his childhood in Indiana, the state whose name he adopted over that of his own in 1958. Recollections of youthful church attendance provided a crucial spark of inspiration: "The reason I became so involved in [it] is that it is so much a part of the peculiar American environment, particularly in my own background, which was Christian Scientist. ‘God is Love’ is spelled out in every church" (ibid., p. 154). Indeed, in the first appearance of the word Love within Indiana’s oeuvre–a painting entitled Love is God from 1964–Indiana neatly inverted the message projected from the religious signboards that had made such an impression on him as a young artist. Shortly afterwards, the eponymous quadrilateral Love motif emerged within Indiana's work, rapidly becoming emblematic of an era that peaked in 1967 with the so-called 'Summer of Love,' with the sculpture embodying all of the positives of the era from which it emerged. 

While Love represents the cultural zeitgeist of the 1960s in its proclamation of international benevolence, the work remains immensely powerful in impact today; a timeless symbol of a movingly universal ideal. Even in the 1960s, Indiana clearly understood the direct power of communication that graphic design and commercial material could hold. Indiana used this to his own ends to create the supremely successful series of Love sculptures that have transcended across all cultural and geographic boundaries fulfilling the potential of Indiana’s sources of influence.