1941
1941 Dora Maar au Chat by Picasso
2006 SOLD 95 M$ including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
Dora Maar au Chat is an oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm painted by Picasso in 1941. Among the many portraits that Picasso made of his mistress, it is one of the most meticulous, with vibrant colors.
Contrary to the artist's usual practice, it is dated by the year without indication of the day, thus appearing beside the rest of the work. Picasso gathered here his admiration and emotion in front of Dora. He emotionally departed from Dora in 1943 and from this painting before 1947.
Throughout Picasso's career, the excessively abundant work is dotted with some dazzling illuminations in which he expresses his deep feelings. Dora Maar au Chat is one of these masterpieces, alongside for example Le Garçon à la pipe, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, La Minotauromachie and La Femme qui pleure.
It is war time. The armchair is a space that might seem open but is in fact an obstacle to freedom, like the throne of Innocent X by Velazquez. Dora is willing to react, with her elegant clothes and her big hat. She smiles.
And then there is the cat. It is very small. Perched on the back of the chair, it walks towards the woman who does not care at all about it. Black in the least contrasted part of the image, it is sneaky. Pablo and Dora did not like cats, these pets that scratch for a simple change of mood. They preferred dogs. For these reasons this tiny cat cannot be a personification of the artist. It is at best an unsolicited visitor, at worst the danger of the outside world.
The amalgamation between human and animal interested Picasso. In the same phase, he paints portraits of Dora with the muzzle of their Afghan hound. Here Dora's very long nails are in some way the claws of the cat.
Dora Maar au Chat was sold for $ 95M including premium by Sotheby's on May 3, 2006. The low resolution image is shared for fair use by Wikipedia.
Contrary to the artist's usual practice, it is dated by the year without indication of the day, thus appearing beside the rest of the work. Picasso gathered here his admiration and emotion in front of Dora. He emotionally departed from Dora in 1943 and from this painting before 1947.
Throughout Picasso's career, the excessively abundant work is dotted with some dazzling illuminations in which he expresses his deep feelings. Dora Maar au Chat is one of these masterpieces, alongside for example Le Garçon à la pipe, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, La Minotauromachie and La Femme qui pleure.
It is war time. The armchair is a space that might seem open but is in fact an obstacle to freedom, like the throne of Innocent X by Velazquez. Dora is willing to react, with her elegant clothes and her big hat. She smiles.
And then there is the cat. It is very small. Perched on the back of the chair, it walks towards the woman who does not care at all about it. Black in the least contrasted part of the image, it is sneaky. Pablo and Dora did not like cats, these pets that scratch for a simple change of mood. They preferred dogs. For these reasons this tiny cat cannot be a personification of the artist. It is at best an unsolicited visitor, at worst the danger of the outside world.
The amalgamation between human and animal interested Picasso. In the same phase, he paints portraits of Dora with the muzzle of their Afghan hound. Here Dora's very long nails are in some way the claws of the cat.
Dora Maar au Chat was sold for $ 95M including premium by Sotheby's on May 3, 2006. The low resolution image is shared for fair use by Wikipedia.
1941 Claustrophobia
2020 SOLD for $ 29.6M including premium
From Guernica to the Nazi Occupation, Dora Maar is a Cassandra for Picasso. He chose in 1940 to stay in Paris but he knew that he was threatened. He lives in lockdown with his muse, whom he adores physically but who once again becomes the symbol of resistance to horror, or even quite simply the symbol of horror.
Dora inevitably becomes his only model and his main theme. A drawing 27 x 22 cm sold for € 52K including premium by Sotheby's on December 7, 2016 is typical of this morbid drift. Dora's face is a double blister where nose and mouth take divergent directions. The time when the cubist use of a double angle of view provided another vigor to the image is over.
Picasso marks his instability in an unusual way by changing the date of the drawing by an erasure, from May 7, 1941 to June 7, 1941. He no longer controls time. We will not know if Dora Maar au Chat, featuring the animal which symbolizes the dangers of the outside world, was painted before or after this anxious frenzy of June 1941.
The new configuration of the face responds to the anxieties of Picasso, who has decidedly little respect for Dora. He begins a series of oils on canvas on which Dora's other usual attributes are maintained : the long black hair, the tricorn hat, the smile despite adversity. He locks her up in an armchair which will symbolize freedom if one day she manages to escape and which anticipates the powerless Popes of Bacon. The nose, which takes its autonomy in this disaster, has been compared to a dog's muzzle or an elephant's trunk.
Tête, 61 x 38 cm, painted on June 13, was sold for $ 9.2M CAD including premium by Heffel on November 20, 2019. Femme dans un fauteuil, oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm painted on June 19, 1941, is estimated $ 20M for sale by Christie's in New York on October 6, lot 8.
The discomfort persists with very little variation, which is contrary to the usual creative vitality of the artist. Femme assise dans un fauteuil, 92 x 73 cm, October 23, 1941, was sold for $ 29M including premium by Sotheby's on May 2, 2012. Femme dans un fauteuil, 92 x 73 cm, April 24, 1942, was sold for £ 19.4M including premium by Christie's on June 20, 2018. Portrait de femme, oil on panel 100 x 80 cm, August 5, 1942, was sold for $ 22.6M including premium by Christie's on May 6, 2014.
Dora inevitably becomes his only model and his main theme. A drawing 27 x 22 cm sold for € 52K including premium by Sotheby's on December 7, 2016 is typical of this morbid drift. Dora's face is a double blister where nose and mouth take divergent directions. The time when the cubist use of a double angle of view provided another vigor to the image is over.
Picasso marks his instability in an unusual way by changing the date of the drawing by an erasure, from May 7, 1941 to June 7, 1941. He no longer controls time. We will not know if Dora Maar au Chat, featuring the animal which symbolizes the dangers of the outside world, was painted before or after this anxious frenzy of June 1941.
The new configuration of the face responds to the anxieties of Picasso, who has decidedly little respect for Dora. He begins a series of oils on canvas on which Dora's other usual attributes are maintained : the long black hair, the tricorn hat, the smile despite adversity. He locks her up in an armchair which will symbolize freedom if one day she manages to escape and which anticipates the powerless Popes of Bacon. The nose, which takes its autonomy in this disaster, has been compared to a dog's muzzle or an elephant's trunk.
Tête, 61 x 38 cm, painted on June 13, was sold for $ 9.2M CAD including premium by Heffel on November 20, 2019. Femme dans un fauteuil, oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm painted on June 19, 1941, is estimated $ 20M for sale by Christie's in New York on October 6, lot 8.
The discomfort persists with very little variation, which is contrary to the usual creative vitality of the artist. Femme assise dans un fauteuil, 92 x 73 cm, October 23, 1941, was sold for $ 29M including premium by Sotheby's on May 2, 2012. Femme dans un fauteuil, 92 x 73 cm, April 24, 1942, was sold for £ 19.4M including premium by Christie's on June 20, 2018. Portrait de femme, oil on panel 100 x 80 cm, August 5, 1942, was sold for $ 22.6M including premium by Christie's on May 6, 2014.
1941 Dora Maar without the Cat
2012 SOLD 29 M$ including premium
On May 3, 2006, Sotheby's sold an oil on canvas by Picasso, 130 x 97 cm, at a price incredibly high for the time, $ 95M including premium. This was the end for the torrid Picasso: this painting shows a woman of indeterminate age, with hairdressing and cloth like an old woman, quietly sitting in an armchair.
This is war time, in 1941. Pablo at 60 is no longer the ebullient lover of Marie-Thérèse and Dora is no longer the Weeping Woman of Guernica. Dora Maar au chat smiled gently, her mouth brightening the unstructured face, it is a masterpiece of intimate art. The cat, incongruous because too small, probably symbolizes the calm now reigning at home.
Painted in the same year, also with saturated colors, Femme assise dans un fauteuil, 92 x 73 cm, is clearly the same woman as Dora au chat although she is not named. This oil on canvas is estimated $ 20M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 2, lot 4.
ADDENDUM before sale :
Read the story discussed yesterday by Bloomberg concerning the condition of this painting, recently damaged and repaired.
POST SALE COMMENT
It had been puzzling. A few hours before the sale, the specialized press announced that the painting had been damaged some years ago, and that the conflict between the parties was still open. Sotheby's confirmed the story, indicating that the repair was made with the utmost professionalism.
This painting could not approach the price of Dora Maar au Chat, of larger size. Taking into account all these considerations, the price, $ 29M including premium, is very satisfactory.
This is war time, in 1941. Pablo at 60 is no longer the ebullient lover of Marie-Thérèse and Dora is no longer the Weeping Woman of Guernica. Dora Maar au chat smiled gently, her mouth brightening the unstructured face, it is a masterpiece of intimate art. The cat, incongruous because too small, probably symbolizes the calm now reigning at home.
Painted in the same year, also with saturated colors, Femme assise dans un fauteuil, 92 x 73 cm, is clearly the same woman as Dora au chat although she is not named. This oil on canvas is estimated $ 20M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 2, lot 4.
ADDENDUM before sale :
Read the story discussed yesterday by Bloomberg concerning the condition of this painting, recently damaged and repaired.
POST SALE COMMENT
It had been puzzling. A few hours before the sale, the specialized press announced that the painting had been damaged some years ago, and that the conflict between the parties was still open. Sotheby's confirmed the story, indicating that the repair was made with the utmost professionalism.
This painting could not approach the price of Dora Maar au Chat, of larger size. Taking into account all these considerations, the price, $ 29M including premium, is very satisfactory.
1941 Femme dans un fauteuil by Picasso
2021 SOLD for $ 17.2M by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
1941 The Decadent Metamorphosis of Max Ernst
2011 SOLD 16.3 M$ including premium
2016 SOLD for £ 7.6M including premium
PRE 2016 SALE DISCUSSION
The Stolen mirror by Max Ernst was sold for $ 16.3M including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011. It is now estimated £ 7M for sale by Christie's in London on February 2, lot 106.
I introduced this painting as follows in 2011 :
World War II was a great shock to the inhabitants of planet Earth. The surrealist artists, accustomed to metaphors and symbols, went to express an anguished vision of the world.
The personal circumstances of Max Ernst had become difficult. German citizens living in France were suspects and prosecuted. Bucolic life with Leonora Carrington was no more possible. In July 1941, he emigrated to the United States with the help of Peggy Guggenheim.
Like all masterpieces of surrealism, the oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm that comes for sale is blurring the issue. It has a tragic title, The Stolen Mirror (possibly by reference to his separation from Leonora) and a significant subtitle, Product of France.
Dated 1941, probably painted in Santa Monica, this panoramic view of a seaside bordered by a road evokes the decadence of France at war, except that the monuments are inspired by Angkor Wat, this temple which anticipates what our cities will be after the end of the living world.
The technique of decalcomania is used by Ernst to provide a petrified texture to the living beings. Monumental pillars are transformed into naked women, or possibly it is the reverse. They shelter living but decomposed birds. A couple of lovers in the meadow is in a similar altogether sharp and rotting condition.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's in 2011.
The Stolen mirror by Max Ernst was sold for $ 16.3M including premium by Christie's on November 1, 2011. It is now estimated £ 7M for sale by Christie's in London on February 2, lot 106.
I introduced this painting as follows in 2011 :
World War II was a great shock to the inhabitants of planet Earth. The surrealist artists, accustomed to metaphors and symbols, went to express an anguished vision of the world.
The personal circumstances of Max Ernst had become difficult. German citizens living in France were suspects and prosecuted. Bucolic life with Leonora Carrington was no more possible. In July 1941, he emigrated to the United States with the help of Peggy Guggenheim.
Like all masterpieces of surrealism, the oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm that comes for sale is blurring the issue. It has a tragic title, The Stolen Mirror (possibly by reference to his separation from Leonora) and a significant subtitle, Product of France.
Dated 1941, probably painted in Santa Monica, this panoramic view of a seaside bordered by a road evokes the decadence of France at war, except that the monuments are inspired by Angkor Wat, this temple which anticipates what our cities will be after the end of the living world.
The technique of decalcomania is used by Ernst to provide a petrified texture to the living beings. Monumental pillars are transformed into naked women, or possibly it is the reverse. They shelter living but decomposed birds. A couple of lovers in the meadow is in a similar altogether sharp and rotting condition.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's in 2011.
1941 Femme Assise dans un Fauteuil by Picasso
2021 SOLD for £ 9.4M including premium by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
1940-1941 Garden in Sochi by Gorky
2021 SOLD for £ 8.6M including premium by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
#AuctionUpdate After a 9-minute bidding battle, #ArshileGorky’s important work 'Garden in Sochi' achieves £8.6 million - over 3x its high estimate and the second highest price for Gorky at auction. pic.twitter.com/Idmq8JWzGb
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) March 25, 2021
1941 Woman with Armchair
2019 SOLD for $ 9.2M CAD including premium
Pablo Picasso once said that Dora Maar had personified the war. This is certainly an exaggeration following their breakup. It remains true that Pablo was reading the evolution of the horrors of war in the attitude and expression of the hypersensitive Dora.
The flagship of Dora's wartime portraits is the Femme au Chat, oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm painted in 1941, sold for $ 95M including premium by Sotheby's on May 3, 2006. In this composition, the important element is the armchair. The woman is smartly dressed as for going out but she is locked in this seat like in a coffin. Yet she smiles.
Dora Maar au Chat does not seem to have been dated to the month and day by the artist. It is regrettable because the sequence of events of the German occupation and of the Vichy regime generates an increasing anxiety. Picasso's dealer in Paris, Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, is a Jew who had lost the French nationality by the decrees of July 1940. On June 13, 1941 the French government begins the deportation of the Jews. On July 1, 1941, as a precaution, Kahnweiler sells his gallery to the daughter of his wife, Louise Leiris.
On November 20 in Toronto, Heffel sells a Tête, oil on canvas 61 x 38 cm dated in that bad June 13, 1941, currently titled Femme au Chapeau. Her expression, difficult to read within Picasso's multi-perspective style, seems rigid. The bleak white of the chair's structure dominates the composition.
Tête is estimated CAD 8M, lot 136. The article shared by CTV News includes a video with the participation of David Heffel.
The flagship of Dora's wartime portraits is the Femme au Chat, oil on canvas 130 x 97 cm painted in 1941, sold for $ 95M including premium by Sotheby's on May 3, 2006. In this composition, the important element is the armchair. The woman is smartly dressed as for going out but she is locked in this seat like in a coffin. Yet she smiles.
Dora Maar au Chat does not seem to have been dated to the month and day by the artist. It is regrettable because the sequence of events of the German occupation and of the Vichy regime generates an increasing anxiety. Picasso's dealer in Paris, Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, is a Jew who had lost the French nationality by the decrees of July 1940. On June 13, 1941 the French government begins the deportation of the Jews. On July 1, 1941, as a precaution, Kahnweiler sells his gallery to the daughter of his wife, Louise Leiris.
On November 20 in Toronto, Heffel sells a Tête, oil on canvas 61 x 38 cm dated in that bad June 13, 1941, currently titled Femme au Chapeau. Her expression, difficult to read within Picasso's multi-perspective style, seems rigid. The bleak white of the chair's structure dominates the composition.
Tête is estimated CAD 8M, lot 136. The article shared by CTV News includes a video with the participation of David Heffel.
1941 The War Nudes of Paul Delvaux
2011 SOLD 6.6 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Delvaux is a figurative painter, but not narrative. His nude women do nothing but being looked, like geishas of theWest. They stay in antique architectures that seem familiar without being identified.
The oil on canvas, 110 x 130 cm, for sale by Christie's in New York on November 1, is an exception. It was painted in Brussels in 1941, in the stifling atmosphere of war.
Women are shown in three distances. Two are close. Two are intertwined in the background landscape. The other two, naked only above the waist, are each on the arm of a man with a bowler hat who seems to come straight from Magritte.
The two women in the foreground wish to communicate. Subtly, their anguish is only reflected by the twisting of the hands. A man, half-over on the left, could help but they do not look at him: it is one of very few paintings in which Delvaux has introduced his self-portrait.
Compared to the usual softly erotic works of Delvaux, this painting is exceptional. It is estimated $ 6M.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This rare painting loaded with emotion was sold $ 6.6M including premium.
Delvaux is a figurative painter, but not narrative. His nude women do nothing but being looked, like geishas of theWest. They stay in antique architectures that seem familiar without being identified.
The oil on canvas, 110 x 130 cm, for sale by Christie's in New York on November 1, is an exception. It was painted in Brussels in 1941, in the stifling atmosphere of war.
Women are shown in three distances. Two are close. Two are intertwined in the background landscape. The other two, naked only above the waist, are each on the arm of a man with a bowler hat who seems to come straight from Magritte.
The two women in the foreground wish to communicate. Subtly, their anguish is only reflected by the twisting of the hands. A man, half-over on the left, could help but they do not look at him: it is one of very few paintings in which Delvaux has introduced his self-portrait.
Compared to the usual softly erotic works of Delvaux, this painting is exceptional. It is estimated $ 6M.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This rare painting loaded with emotion was sold $ 6.6M including premium.
1941 Magritte in the Magnet of Love
2011 SOLD 4.75 M£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
This is a painting by Magritte, just as the public loves them. The line is simple and well done, the colors are bright and vivid. A naked woman is standing, front view, leaning lightly on a rock. Behind her, a heavy red curtain.
It's a Magritte. So do not leave too early your viewing. Indeed, the shadow of the woman is replaced by her exact shapes in the folds of the curtain. The scene that seemed so natural immediately becomes strange.
The title in French, "l'Aimant", invites for an ambiguous comparison between romantic and magnetic attractions. I checked in my dictionary: the two etymologies of the word are entirely independent. Magritte, as a worthy contemporary of Duchamp, has used the double meaning meaning with a perfect subtlety.
The artwork was done in 1941, confirmed by two letters in which the artist gave some descriptive explanations. It is estimated £ 3.5 million, for sale by Christie's in London on February 9.
We wait for the auction catalog to know its exact dimensions, but we can already get an idea by opening the Reuters news shared by Artdaily. Magritte would have loved this photograph. An employee of Christie's who observes the painting is in the shadow, in total oppsition with the sun light on the naked body.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result for this outstanding work by Magritte: £ 4.75 million including premium.
Here are its dimensions, as promised: 130 x 90 cm.
This is a painting by Magritte, just as the public loves them. The line is simple and well done, the colors are bright and vivid. A naked woman is standing, front view, leaning lightly on a rock. Behind her, a heavy red curtain.
It's a Magritte. So do not leave too early your viewing. Indeed, the shadow of the woman is replaced by her exact shapes in the folds of the curtain. The scene that seemed so natural immediately becomes strange.
The title in French, "l'Aimant", invites for an ambiguous comparison between romantic and magnetic attractions. I checked in my dictionary: the two etymologies of the word are entirely independent. Magritte, as a worthy contemporary of Duchamp, has used the double meaning meaning with a perfect subtlety.
The artwork was done in 1941, confirmed by two letters in which the artist gave some descriptive explanations. It is estimated £ 3.5 million, for sale by Christie's in London on February 9.
We wait for the auction catalog to know its exact dimensions, but we can already get an idea by opening the Reuters news shared by Artdaily. Magritte would have loved this photograph. An employee of Christie's who observes the painting is in the shadow, in total oppsition with the sun light on the naked body.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result for this outstanding work by Magritte: £ 4.75 million including premium.
Here are its dimensions, as promised: 130 x 90 cm.
1941 The Lead Falcon
2013 SOLD 4.1 M$ including premium
In 1941 the Maltese Falcon, produced by Warner Bros. and directed by John Huston, is a milestone in the history of cinema. The public will abandon the horror movies in favor of the film noir displaying a complex detective story.
This evil bird that is succeeding the terrible monsters seldom appears in the film. It is an object of intense desire until it is discovered and provides the evidence that it was not made of precious materials.
The detailed on-screen inspection of the handling of this statuette 30cm high shows that it is very heavy. The version made in lead weighing 20.5 kg is authenticated in two units by Warner.
Only one of them was used in the film. It is for sale by Bonhams in New York on November 25. Here is the link to the catalog.
During filming, this heavy prop had fallen from the hands of an actress on the toes of Humphrey Bogart and a lead feather from the tail was bent by the accident. This damage is visible during an action on screen and ensures that the copy for sale by Bonhams is the actual bird of the film.
Yesterday November 7 at Guernsey's, a Maltese Falcon in gray plaster of same size remained unsold from an estimate of $ 1M. It is signed with the initials of the artist : Fred Sexton.
POST SALE COMMENT
This statuette is a true icon in the history of cinema. It was sold for $ 3.5 million before fees, 4.1 million including premium.
This evil bird that is succeeding the terrible monsters seldom appears in the film. It is an object of intense desire until it is discovered and provides the evidence that it was not made of precious materials.
The detailed on-screen inspection of the handling of this statuette 30cm high shows that it is very heavy. The version made in lead weighing 20.5 kg is authenticated in two units by Warner.
Only one of them was used in the film. It is for sale by Bonhams in New York on November 25. Here is the link to the catalog.
During filming, this heavy prop had fallen from the hands of an actress on the toes of Humphrey Bogart and a lead feather from the tail was bent by the accident. This damage is visible during an action on screen and ensures that the copy for sale by Bonhams is the actual bird of the film.
Yesterday November 7 at Guernsey's, a Maltese Falcon in gray plaster of same size remained unsold from an estimate of $ 1M. It is signed with the initials of the artist : Fred Sexton.
POST SALE COMMENT
This statuette is a true icon in the history of cinema. It was sold for $ 3.5 million before fees, 4.1 million including premium.
1940-1941 La Corrida by Picabia
2021 SOLD for € 3.15M including premium by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
1941 War Effort by Norman Rockwell
2012 SOLD 2.8 M$ before fees
Each week, American readers eagerly awaited the next cover of their favorite magazine, the Saturday Evening Post. They recognized perfectly themselves and their neighbours as the characters of everyday life placed by Norman Rockwell in gently comic situations.
Then came the war. Rockwell was able to extend his comic skill by pointing the life in the barracks, encouraging patriotism without showing fights.
GI Willie Gillis, invented by the artist, appears for the first time on the cover on October 4, 1941. The funny and endearing caricature shows the little man in a situation that all soldiers once lived. He received the first package of food and sweets from Mom, and he does not know how to deal with six hilarious burly comrades waiting for a share in tight ranks behind him.
The original art for this cover is an oil on canvas, 127 x 100 cm. It is estimated $ 3M, for sale by Susanin's in Chicago on December 1. Here is the link to the catalog on LiveAuctioneers.
Up to the end of the war, Rockwell feeds these topics of military humor. A very patriotic painting from 1942 starring Rosie the woman soldier was sold $ 5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 21, 2002. The homecoming of the Marine in 1945 was sold for $ 9.2 million including premium on May 24, 2006, also by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result recorded on LiveAuctioneers, $ 2.8 million before fees, was confirmed by the auction house to the Chicago Tribune.
Then came the war. Rockwell was able to extend his comic skill by pointing the life in the barracks, encouraging patriotism without showing fights.
GI Willie Gillis, invented by the artist, appears for the first time on the cover on October 4, 1941. The funny and endearing caricature shows the little man in a situation that all soldiers once lived. He received the first package of food and sweets from Mom, and he does not know how to deal with six hilarious burly comrades waiting for a share in tight ranks behind him.
The original art for this cover is an oil on canvas, 127 x 100 cm. It is estimated $ 3M, for sale by Susanin's in Chicago on December 1. Here is the link to the catalog on LiveAuctioneers.
Up to the end of the war, Rockwell feeds these topics of military humor. A very patriotic painting from 1942 starring Rosie the woman soldier was sold $ 5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 21, 2002. The homecoming of the Marine in 1945 was sold for $ 9.2 million including premium on May 24, 2006, also by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result recorded on LiveAuctioneers, $ 2.8 million before fees, was confirmed by the auction house to the Chicago Tribune.
1941 Going to the Pictures by Drysdale
2020 SOLD for A$ 2.95M including premium by Deutscher and Hackett
narrated post sale in 2020
Born in Sussex, Russell Drysdale moved with his parents to Melbourne in 1923, at the age of 11. He entered Geelong Grammar School, where he had Peter Purves Smith as a classmate. The two young people will pioneer a new theme in pictorial art, describing the humble and harsh life in the outback, outdoors and indoors.
In 1940 Drysdale, almost blind, is not accepted for military service. To change his mind, he is going to shear the sheep. Returning to his studio in 1941, he renounces his previous style, too shimmering for the theme of rural desolation.
His characters are slim, with very elongated bodies and limbs in the proportions of Art Déco fashion illustrations. The landscapes with scattered dried trees are directly inspired by the Kangaroo Hunt painted in 1938 by Purves Smith.
On November 11, 2020, Deutscher and Hackett sold for A $ 2.95M including premium Going to the Pictures, oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm painted by Drysdale in 1941.
The whole family is in their Sunday best, the men with a tie and the woman with her handbag. They get ready to go to town in a pre-1914 roadster. In the foreground, the father turns his back to the scene for being admired, while holding the watering can with which he will refresh his vehicle from another age.
In 1944 the outback was devastated by the worst drought in its history. Going to the Pictures and its narrative following Sunday Evening had foreshadowed the artist's social awareness in favor of these disadvantaged but not discouraged families. Drysdale does not join the political demands of the Angry Penguins.
In 1940 Drysdale, almost blind, is not accepted for military service. To change his mind, he is going to shear the sheep. Returning to his studio in 1941, he renounces his previous style, too shimmering for the theme of rural desolation.
His characters are slim, with very elongated bodies and limbs in the proportions of Art Déco fashion illustrations. The landscapes with scattered dried trees are directly inspired by the Kangaroo Hunt painted in 1938 by Purves Smith.
On November 11, 2020, Deutscher and Hackett sold for A $ 2.95M including premium Going to the Pictures, oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm painted by Drysdale in 1941.
The whole family is in their Sunday best, the men with a tie and the woman with her handbag. They get ready to go to town in a pre-1914 roadster. In the foreground, the father turns his back to the scene for being admired, while holding the watering can with which he will refresh his vehicle from another age.
In 1944 the outback was devastated by the worst drought in its history. Going to the Pictures and its narrative following Sunday Evening had foreshadowed the artist's social awareness in favor of these disadvantaged but not discouraged families. Drysdale does not join the political demands of the Angry Penguins.
