Lot 24
  • 24

JANKEL ADLER | Bathers

Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 GBP
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Description

  • Adler, Jankel
  • Bathers
  • signed and dated Adler / 1941 lower left
  • oil on canvas
  • 64 by 57cm., 25 by 22½in.

Provenance

Sale: Pierre Bergé & Associés, Paris, 7 June 2012, lot 29
Trinity House Paintings, London
Sale: Christie's, London, 13 December 2012, lot 241
Boundary Gallery, London
Purchased from the above by the present owner in 2013

Condition

The canvas has been lined. There is one very small spot of paint flaking in the far upper right corner. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals some areas of uneven fluorescence due to old residual varnish and one minor spot of cosmetic retouching in the centre of the upper edge. Otherwise, this work appears to be in good condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a simple gilt frame with a black, velvet inner slip.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Born in Lodz, Poland in 1895, Adler moved to Germany in 1913 where he established himself as a significant force in the German art world of the 1920s. In the present work, Adler develops the common theme of the bathers into his own artistic vision, clearly drawing from German Expressionism, Picasso and Klee, with whom he taught at the Düsseldorf Staatliche Kunstakademie and shared an adjoining studio. Discussing Adler's work from this period Edouard Roditi writes: '...it was after 1940, in war-time Scotland, that [Adler] attained full maturity. Increasingly personal and creative in his philosophy, he now managed to fuse subject-matter, composition, draftsmanship, texture and colour-harmonies in a single artistic phenomenon that fully expresses his unique personality. Like ideograms, Adler's figures no longer represent individuals or tell an anecdote, but signify basic human types.' (Edouard Roditi in "The Jewish Artist in the Modern World", Jewish Art: An Illustrated History (Cecil Roth, ed.), Tel Aviv, 1961, p. 289).