Joseph Cornell

Gift of the artist to the present owner

This work is in very good condition overall. All of the collage elements are well intact. There is pale time staining to the photograph and board and some adhesive residue evident due to the artist’s working method. Under raking light, there are very faint surface scratches to the photograph element. Framed under glass.
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 following Joseph Cornell collages (lots 139 - 142) are from an East Coast couple who had the great fortune of befriending the artist some four years before his passing. The wife, introduced to Cornell through Suzanne Miller, a New York City actress, writer, friend of the artist and subject of lot 140, would go on to enjoy a strong friendship with Cornell until his death in 1972. Several of the works, characterized by their limited cutouts and prevailing white space, exhibit a shift in the artist’s collage practice that took place after 1965. Cornell favored this method for both its speed and more abstract approach of collage construction. These works demonstrate the artist’s continued investigation of a unique visual poetry through the use of pre-existing material while engaging with a nonrepresentational method.