HUGÓ SCHEIBER | Clown's Face

Whitford Fine Art, London
Acquired from the above by the late owners in 1986

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount at two places along the upper edge. There are tears to all four edges. There is a tear running vertically from the upper edge measuring 6cm, three tears to the right edge (measuring 3cm) with similar and corresponding tears along the lower edge, there is a loss to the sheet in the upper right corner and various nicks at all four edges. There is a 12cm repaired tear running vertically along the center of the right edge. There is a loss to the sheet at the center of the upper edge possibly caused by an artist's pinhole. There are minor pin-dot losses to the pigment, notably to the left of the clown's face. The colours are bright and this work is in overall fairly 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. 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."

An artist in her own right, Penny studied Technical Drawing at the Norwich Art School, Fine Arts at the Camberwell School of Art, and Theatre Design at the Central School of Art. It was through her studies at Central that she struck a friendship with artists like Henry Moore, who she later went on to collect. In 1958, she married Australian airline pilot Richard Patrick Allen who between his busy life as one of the first ever Concorde pilots was himself a keen collector of works by important Australian artists, including Brett Whiteley, John Olsen and lan Fairweather. Penny, on the other hand, principally collected Modern British Art, which was furthered by her friendship with British painter and sculptor Maggi Hambling CBE. Maggi and Penny would hold regular painting weekends at Pat and Penny's house on the River Orwell in Suffolk. Penny was also instrumental in creating the Friends of the Tate with her uncle Sir Robert Adeane. The family of Pat and Penny Allen now hope that others will be able to enjoy the collection as much as they have done and further works will be offered in London in the Modern and Post-War British Art Sales in June, the Made in Britain sale in September as well as the Contemporary Art Curated and European Art online sales in November. Please refer to our website for further details.

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Peter Molnos.