Avigdor Arikha

Marlborough Gallery, New York
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, March 18, 2004, lot 44
The Yehuda Assia Collection, Tel Aviv, acquired at the above sale
Thence by descent to the present owner

Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Highlights from the Yehuda Assia Collection, September - November 2009, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, p. 121

Oil on canvas, canvas is not lined. Surface: In generally good condition aside from a few minor abrasions in the extreme corners of the work. UNDER UV: No apparent inpainting.
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.

An intimate glimpse into Arikha's personal life, Ritual Objects depicts items from the artist's personal art collection: A large Senufo mask; a Sepik hook, New Guinea, a 17th or 18th century icon, probably Bulgarian; A Mochica (Inca) funerary urn for two brothers; a New Hebrides ancestor mask; and - in the artist's manner - a piece of a framed drawing, cropped so tightly as to render the artwork inside invisible, irrelevant. Arikha's compositions provide a snapshot of the world around him, simultaneously familiar and fragmented.

Six Masterpieces from the collection of the late Yehuda Assia

(lots 9, 15, 21, 23, 27, and 79)

Born in Baghdad, Yehuda Assia (1917-2016) immigrated to Israel at 32 in 1949, and spent the following years between Israel and Geneva. A successful banker and businessman, a dedicated philanthropist, a devoted husband and father, Assia began collecting art with his late wife Jeanette Assia after they were inspired by the private collections of their acquaintances in Geneva. Assia’s passion for art that reflects the traditions in which he was raised guided the tone and subject of his collecting. Masterworks from Israel’s leading artists filled the walls of his home, alongside examples from international modern masters, with deeply personal associations for the collector. Carmela Rubin describes a visit to Assia’s home where she toured his collection in preparation for exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, “Assia paused by every one of Mordecai Ardon and Abel Pann’s paintings, and quoted the biblical phrase to which each of the abstract or figurative compositions relates…he quoted each phrase in full from memory…How important it seemed to him… that none of his guests remain oblivious to the details of these biblical stories” (Yehuda Assia – Art Collector, Highlights from the Yehuda Assia Collection, p. 197).