- 15
Joseph Cornell
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 USD
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Description
- Joseph Cornell
- Untitled (Blue Sand Tray)
- signed on paper affixed to the underside
- wood and glass box construction with gouache, colored sand, printed paper collage and found objects
- 1 3/8 by 9 3/4 by 6 5/8 in. 3.5 by 24.8 by 16.8 cm.
- Executed circa 1950.
Provenance
Estate of the Artist
C&M Arts, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner in December 1998
C&M Arts, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner in December 1998
Exhibited
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Joseph Cornell, November 1980 - January 1981, pl. 181, p. 224, illustrated (Titled Untitled (Sand Box))
Condition
This work is in good condition overall. All elements are stable. There is time staining to the collaged newspaper, consistent with the age of the work. There is some minor adhesive residue evident. Only under close inspection, there are some fine surface scratches to the glass at the top left. There is some light handling noted and a brown accretion to the turning edge at the bottom center. Under close inspection, there are a few areas of craquelure and some pinpoint losses to the collaged newspaper.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
"He found his epiphanies in the banal -- in marbles and metal springs and other frugal objects, mingling the visionary aims of French Symbolism with a literalism that is distinctly American. In an exquisite conjunction between fantasy and the real, Cornell found the sublime at the five-and-dime."
Deborah Solomon, Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell, New York 2015, p. 373