Jean Dubuffet

Collection of Armande Ponge, Paris (gift of the artist)
Galerie 1900-2000, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner 

Kunsthalle Schirn Frankfurt, Jean Dubuffet: 1901-1985, December 1990 - May 1991, p. 25, illustrated in color
Madrid, Sala de Exposiciones de la Caja de Pensiones, Jean Dubuffet: Del Paisaje Físico al Paisaje Mental, March - April 1992, illustrated in color
Punkaharju, Retretti Art Center, Jean Dubuffet 1901-1985, June - August 2006, illustrated in color
Paris, Galerie 1900-2000, Jean Dubuffet, October - November 2013
Los Angeles, Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art, Important Works on Paper, June - August 2015, illustrated in color
New York, James Goodman Gallery, Dubuffet: Form & Texture, October - December 2015, p. 5, illustrated in color

Thomas M. Messer, Jean Dubuffet 1901-1985, Stuttgart 1990, p. 25, illustrated in color
Max Loreau, Ed., Catalogue des travaux de Jean Dubuffet, Fascicule I: Marionnettes de la ville et de la campagne, Paris 1993, no. 140, p. 80, illustrated

This work is in very good condition overall. There is a slight undulation to the sheet, inherent to the artist’s working method and artist’s pinholes in each corner. There is minor evidence of handling along the edges with an associated pinpoint loss to the lower right edge. There is a small brown spot accretion between the cow’s feet. The sheet is hinged verso to the mat intermittently along the top and bottom edges Framed under Plexiglas.
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.

Painted during a trip through the south of France in July 1943, the present work beautifully materializes all the insatiable joy and vivacious energy of Jean Dubuffet’s interpretation of the visual world around him. Dubuffet set out on his journey with his wife, Lily, a welcome departure from the bustling Paris city culture. With no more luggage than could fit on his bicycle, Dubuffet documented the trip along the way in his notebook, enchanted by the sensation of simplicity of the most rudimentary means.

Formerly in the collection of Armande Ponge de Trentinian, an avid collector of Dubuffet’s work and the daughter of the artist’s close friend and art critic, Francis Ponge, Vache aux Deux Arbes is a rare example from the early 1940s and the only painting from the series executed with oil. The present work perfectly embodies one of the first examples of Dubuffet’s potential for inventiveness and renewal.