- 26
BONESTELL, CHESLEY
Estimate
6,000 - 9,000 USD
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Description
- "The Moon as it Should Have Been". Study for "Lunar Landscape", ca 1957, a 40 by 10 foot mural commissioned for the Boston Science Museum's Hayden Planetarium, which was unveiled on March 28, 1957
- oil on photograph over board, matted glazed and framed
Oil on photograph over board, 41 by 10 inches (to sight), matted, glazed and framed to 52 by 21 inches.
Provenance
Ex Collection of Frederick C. Durant, III
Condition
Some minor surface abrasions/scratches, two areas with lines cut in shape of crossed-out square; black masking tape around edges of board, some areas with loss of tape, captioned to verso in two unknown hands, one likely that of Bonestell.
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
The "Lunar Landscape" was a dramatic depiction of the lunar surface as imagined by Bonestell. In his usual fashion, he planned the mural in exacting detail, calculating the position of the stars and planets behind an imaginary crater on the moon's surface replete with dramatic peaks, caverns and crater walls. A little more than six months after Bonestell's "Lunar Landscape" was unveiled to great fanfare, the Soviet Sputnik-1 satellite was launched, bringing back the first photographs of the lunar surface. Reality was far less dramatic than what Bonestell had imagined. Boston Museum officials quietly had the mural taken down in 1970, once they realized that it would no longer be seen as an accurate depiction, and six years later, presented it to the Air and Space Museum, where it remains. This interim study is typical of Bonestell's meticulous work, using his frequent technique of painting over photographs that he shuttered himself - his use of this technique is well documented starting from the 1940s.