FERNAND LÉGER | LE DÉJEUNER
Estimate:
300,000 - 500,000 USD
FERNAND LÉGER
(1881 - 1955)
LE DÉJEUNER
Signed with the initials F.L and indistinctly dated 1 (upper left)
Watercolor, brush and ink and pencil on paper
10¼ by 14⅛ in. (26 by 36 cm)
Framed: 19 by 23 in. (48.2 by 58.4 cm)
Executed in Spring 1921.
The work is in very good condition. Executed on white colored wove paper, not laid down. The sheet is affixed to a mount at two places along the top edge on verso. Left edge is cut; top, right and bottom edges are deckled. The signature and indistinct date at upper left are upside down. Slight mat stain around the perimeter, most noticeable at bottom and right edges. A few pindots of foxing scattered throughout. Medium is well preserved overall, though there may be some minor surface abrasion in the red and mustard colored pigments at center right. On the verso a few pencil inscriptions are visible as well as some skinning to the sheet around the extreme edges, likely from a prior mounting.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.
Galerie l'Effort Moderne (Léonce Rosenberg), Paris
The Zwemmer Gallery, London (acquired by 1936 and until circa 1960)
J.P.L. Fine Arts, London (acquired by 1978)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, April 1, 1987, lot 351
Private Collection, Switzerland (and sold: Christie's, New York, May 15 1997, lot 392)
Private Collection, New York (acquired at the above sale)
Private Collection (acquired from the above and sold: Christie's, New York, November 11, 2019, lot 31A)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Eileen Holding, "London Shows," in Axis, Spring 1936, no. 5, mentioned p. 27, illustrated p. 26
Jean Cassou & Jean Leymarie, Fernand Léger, Dessins et gouaches, nouvelle édition, 2012, no. 3-394, http://www.legerdessinsetgouaches.com (accessed on April 24, 2020)
London, Lefevre Gallery & traveling, Abstract & Concrete, 1936, no. 19 (probably)
London, J.P.L. Fine Arts, Fernand Léger: Drawings and Gouaches 1910-1953, 1978, no. 5 (titled Femme attablée)
London, Annely Juda Fine Art, Abstraction 1910-40, 1980, no. 89, illustrated in the catalogue (titled Femme attablée)