Fernand Léger

Galerie Zobrowski, Paris
Ladislas Segy, New York (and sold by the estate: Christie's, New York, May 11, 1988, lot 48)
Acquired at the above sale

New York, Julien Levy Gallery, Documents of Cubism, 1938-39, no. 31 (titled Composition on Red) 

Georges Bauquier, Fernand Léger, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, 1932-1937, Paris, 1996, no. 807, illustrated in color p. 32

The work is in very good condition overall. The canvas is not lined. There is some minor frame abrasion to sections of all edges, particularly in the top edge. A few pinpoint losses, mostly in the top left quadrant. There is some thin stable craquelure in the left half of the painting. Under UV light, two pindot strokes of inpainting are apparent in the center of the canvas. Some pigments in the yellow sections fluoresce but appear to be original.
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.

Léger himself explained the abstract element of his painting: "The realistic value of a work of art is completely independent of any imitative character. This truth should be accepted as dogma and made axiomatic in the general understanding of painting... Pictorial realism is the simultaneous ordering of three great plastic components: Lines, Forms and Colours...the modern concept is not a reaction against the impressionists' idea but is, on the contrary, a further development and expansion of their aims through the use of methods they neglected... Present-day life, more fragmented and faster moving than life in previous eras, has had to accept as its means of expression an art of dynamic divisionism; and the sentimental side, the expression of the subject (in the sense of popular expression), has reached a critical moment... The modern conception is not simply a passing abstraction, valid only for a few initiates; it is the total expression of a new generation whose needs it shares and whose aspirations it answers" (quoted in Dorothy Kosinski, ed., Fernand Léger, 1911-1924, The Rhythm of Modern Life, Munich & New York, 1994, pp. 66-67).