- 19
ELLSWORTH KELLY | Study for Curve II
Estimate
350,000 - 450,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Ellsworth Kelly
- Study for Curve II
- partially titled and dated 1973; signed on the reverse
- graphite on paper
- 33 3/4 by 33 3/4 in. 85.7 by 85.7 cm.
Provenance
Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
Collection of Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc., New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Collection of Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc., New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
New York, John Weber Gallery; Amherst College, Mead Gallery; Santa Barbara, University of California Art Galleries; Austin, Laguna Gloria Art Museum; Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, October 1977 - December 1978, n.p.
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Ellsworth Kelly, Schilderijen en beelden 1963-1979 Paintings and Sculptures 1963-1979, December 1979 - February 1980
London, Hayward Gallery, Ellsworth Kelly Painting & Sculpture 1966-1979, February - April 1980, cat. no. 41
Baden-Baden, Staatliche Kunstalle, Ellsworth Kelly Gemalde und Skulpturen 1966-1979, July - September 1980, cat. no. 37, p. 123
New York, Whitney Museum of American Art; Saint Louis Art Museum, Ellsworth Kelly: Sculpture, December 1982 - May 1983, p. 190
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Vancouver Art Gallery; Calgary, The Nickle Arts Museum; New York, Seagram Building; London, London Regional Art Gallery, Drawings by Sculptors: Two Decades of Non-Objective Art in the Seagram Collection, May 1984 - June 1985, p. 41, illustrated
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Ellsworth Kelly, Schilderijen en beelden 1963-1979 Paintings and Sculptures 1963-1979, December 1979 - February 1980
London, Hayward Gallery, Ellsworth Kelly Painting & Sculpture 1966-1979, February - April 1980, cat. no. 41
Baden-Baden, Staatliche Kunstalle, Ellsworth Kelly Gemalde und Skulpturen 1966-1979, July - September 1980, cat. no. 37, p. 123
New York, Whitney Museum of American Art; Saint Louis Art Museum, Ellsworth Kelly: Sculpture, December 1982 - May 1983, p. 190
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Vancouver Art Gallery; Calgary, The Nickle Arts Museum; New York, Seagram Building; London, London Regional Art Gallery, Drawings by Sculptors: Two Decades of Non-Objective Art in the Seagram Collection, May 1984 - June 1985, p. 41, illustrated
Condition
This work is in excellent condition overall. The sheet is hinged verso to the mat along the top edge and there is a very slight undulation to the sheet. Only visible under very close inspection, there are two very minor unobtrusive faint pinpoint surface accretions in the upper right corner of the sheet. 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.
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
“Making art has first of all to do with honesty. My first lesson was to see objectively, to erase all ‘meaning,’ of the thing seen. Then only, could the real meaning of it be understood and felt.” --Ellsworth Kelly, “Notes from 1969,” in Ellsworth Kelly: Schilderijen en beelden 1963-1979, exh. cat., Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam 1979, p. 34
Ellsworth Kelly’s Study for Curve II is a discerning exploration of form that utilizes basic gestures to describe complex spatial relationships. Composed of two line segments that meet in a right angle and connect at their other end with an arc, Kelly’s drawing exhibits a graceful diagonal symmetry. The straight lines rhyme with the edges of the picture plane, and the curving segment bends away from the border, drawing attention to the negative space between the edge of the line and the corner. The momentum of Kelly’s gesture is captured where each line meets, forever recorded in the sweeps made by the graphite as they lifted off of the page. The drawing is a study for the highly important sculpture Curve II, originally installed outside of Phillip Johnson's house in Connecticut and subsequently donated by Johnson to the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Johnson, who designed the interior of the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram building was instrumental to the formation of the Seagram collection, and Kelly’s drawing stands as a testament to the pioneering contemporary vision that pervades the collection.
This work is the study for realized sculpture, Curve II, 1973, gift of Philip Johnson to the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Ellsworth Kelly’s Study for Curve II is a discerning exploration of form that utilizes basic gestures to describe complex spatial relationships. Composed of two line segments that meet in a right angle and connect at their other end with an arc, Kelly’s drawing exhibits a graceful diagonal symmetry. The straight lines rhyme with the edges of the picture plane, and the curving segment bends away from the border, drawing attention to the negative space between the edge of the line and the corner. The momentum of Kelly’s gesture is captured where each line meets, forever recorded in the sweeps made by the graphite as they lifted off of the page. The drawing is a study for the highly important sculpture Curve II, originally installed outside of Phillip Johnson's house in Connecticut and subsequently donated by Johnson to the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Johnson, who designed the interior of the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram building was instrumental to the formation of the Seagram collection, and Kelly’s drawing stands as a testament to the pioneering contemporary vision that pervades the collection.
This work is the study for realized sculpture, Curve II, 1973, gift of Philip Johnson to the Museum of Modern Art, New York.