PAUL GAUGUIN | Petit breton

Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York
Mr. & Mrs. George N. Richard, New York (acquired by 1958)
Sale: Christie’s, New York, May 13, 1987, lot 103
William Louis-Dreyfus, Mt. Kisco, New York (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired by the Louis-Dreyfus Family Collections by inheritance from the above in 2016

New York, Wildenstein & Co., Inc., Drawings Through Four Centuries, 1949, no. 59
Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago & New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gauguin, 1959, no. 77
New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Gauguin and the Decorative Style, 1966, n.n.
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Lure of the Exotic: Gauguin in New York Collections, 2002, no. 14

John Rewald, Gauguin Drawings, New York, 1958, no. 9, illustrated p. 24
Ronald Pickvance, The Drawings of Gauguin, London, 1970, pl. 17, illustrated p. 22
Daniel Wildenstein, Gauguin: A Savage in the Making, Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings (1873–1888), vol. II, Paris, 2002, illustrated p. 413

Executed on buff-colored wove paper laid down on paper. The edges are unevenly cut. The sheet is hinged to a mount in two places along the upper edge of its verso. Along the left edge there is a repaired T-shaped tear measuring approximately 1 inch in length. In the lower register of the work there are several repaired nicks and small tears. In the center of the lower edge there is a semicircular repaired loss, measuring 1 inch in diameter. Extending across the lower right corner there is a triangular area of repaired loss, measuring approximately 2 inches by 1.5 inches. To the figure's proper left shoulder there is a repaired semi-circular repaired tear measuring 1/2 inch in diameter. All of these tears and repairs have been stabilized by the aforementioned supporting sheet. There are a remnants of a previous mounting on the verso. This work is in overall good condition.
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.