Sean Scully

Timothy Taylor, London;
Private collection

The sheet is not laid down. Cockles slightly. Appears in very good original condition, ready to hang. Held in a black wooden box frame under glass; unexamined out of 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'The pastels, those big pastels that I make, are very monumental…They have a physicality, but they have the physicality of powder...or chalk, whereas the paintings are shiny, inherently shiny...One doesn't get the sense with a pastel that it has an outer skin, that it has a beginning and an end. It seems, well, it's powder, so one is chasing its outer and inner extremities when one's looking at it, because you don't really know where it starts and where it ends'

(S. Scully quoted in N.Rifkin (edt.), Sean Scully: Twenty Years 1976-1995, London, p.79)