1942
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Matisse Qi Baishi Fu Baoshi Mondrian O'Keeffe
See also : Matisse Qi Baishi Fu Baoshi Mondrian O'Keeffe
masterpiece
1942 Nighthawks by Hopper
Art Institute of Chicgo
Edward Hopper is a director of the world around him. He is shy, laconic and conservative. His marriage to Jo, who is sociable, open and liberal, will last their lifetime. The notebooks scrupulously kept by Jo are often the only entry to understand Edward's creativity.
Jo becomes Edward's only model, which avoids jealousy, but he positions her against her own temperament. She lets go, and becomes the symbol of the loneliness felt by the artist. In 1942 in Nighthawks, Edward and Jo are the diners in the deserted restaurant. This famous painting is a great example of the atmosphere of a thriller in major art.
Jo becomes Edward's only model, which avoids jealousy, but he positions her against her own temperament. She lets go, and becomes the symbol of the loneliness felt by the artist. In 1942 in Nighthawks, Edward and Jo are the diners in the deserted restaurant. This famous painting is a great example of the atmosphere of a thriller in major art.
1942 PICASSO
1
April 1942 Femme dans un Fauteuil
2018 SOLD for £ 19.4M by Christie's
It appears that Picasso did not know how to control his emotions. His apparent self-indulgence would therefore be a mask. He bravely chose to stay in Paris during the German occupation but he suffocates psychologically. He feels awkward in self-portraits. Dora once again plays the role of intercessor between the artist and the world.
Dora is a committed intellectual, probably fully aware of her role as a mirror. Eccentric and provocative, she accepts to see her image disfigured by the fantasies of Pablo. In real life she was not the crying woman, despite her political hypersensitivity. Yet she painted self-portraits in this role to give reason to Pablo.
Dora Maar au chat, painted by Picasso in 1941, must be considered in relation to the war. She is locked in her armchair without access to the outside world, as later Francis Bacon's pope. Hope is weak but still exists, marked by the coquetry of the hat and nails and by the freedom of a microscopic cat.
In the following year the atmosphere in Paris is even more painful. Attacks on degenerate art become insistent. Pablo needs Dora but she is threatened by her past as an anti-fascist activist. He locks her back in her chair but equip her with the nose of his Afghan dog so that she is no more recognizable by their persecutors. He will take care much later to state that there was no sadism in his portraits of Dora Maar.
Femme dans un fauteuil (Dora Maar), oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm painted on April 24, 1942, was sold for £ 19.4M by Christie's on June 20, 2018, lot 20 B. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Dora is a committed intellectual, probably fully aware of her role as a mirror. Eccentric and provocative, she accepts to see her image disfigured by the fantasies of Pablo. In real life she was not the crying woman, despite her political hypersensitivity. Yet she painted self-portraits in this role to give reason to Pablo.
Dora Maar au chat, painted by Picasso in 1941, must be considered in relation to the war. She is locked in her armchair without access to the outside world, as later Francis Bacon's pope. Hope is weak but still exists, marked by the coquetry of the hat and nails and by the freedom of a microscopic cat.
In the following year the atmosphere in Paris is even more painful. Attacks on degenerate art become insistent. Pablo needs Dora but she is threatened by her past as an anti-fascist activist. He locks her back in her chair but equip her with the nose of his Afghan dog so that she is no more recognizable by their persecutors. He will take care much later to state that there was no sadism in his portraits of Dora Maar.
Femme dans un fauteuil (Dora Maar), oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm painted on April 24, 1942, was sold for £ 19.4M by Christie's on June 20, 2018, lot 20 B. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
2
August 1942 Portrait de Femme
2014 SOLD for $ 22.6M by Christie's
Dora Maar succeeded Marie-Thérèse Walter in the heart of Picasso during one of the worst periods in the history of the twentieth century. During the Spanish Civil War, Pablo saw in her the Weeping Woman. Despair caused by the Second World War once again changed the image of Dora.
In 1941, Dora is an Enthroned Madonna. Stiff and impassive, she presides over the tragic events from her high armchair. The kitten on the top bar of the seat finds that this goddess is not hostile, but it is a black cat. Dora Maar au Chat, 128 x 95 cm, was sold for $ 95M by Sotheby's in 2006.
Months pass and Europe plunges deeper into war. On May 6, 2014, Christie's sold for $ 22.6M an oil on panel 100 x 80 cm painted on August 5, 1942.
This is unquestionably a new portrait of Dora, identifiable by her seat and her tricorn hat. Pablo deliberately deconstructed her face with a savagery generated by the accumulation of his anxieties.
For Marie-Thérèse and for the beginnings of Dora, the offset position of the eyes had been an impulse of the artist expressing his adoration through a Cubist research of the third dimension. The elephantine nose in profile of the new portrait cannot have a similar cause and also has a complex interpretation.
It is a semaphore warning of the dangers of war. It is also the long thin nose of Pablo's Afghan hound, his other favorite model at that time. If its shape generates a phallic interpretation, this war painting becomes the tragic echo of Le Rêve of Marie-Thérèse, that ultimate expression of happiness painted by Pablo on January 24, 1932.
In 1941, Dora is an Enthroned Madonna. Stiff and impassive, she presides over the tragic events from her high armchair. The kitten on the top bar of the seat finds that this goddess is not hostile, but it is a black cat. Dora Maar au Chat, 128 x 95 cm, was sold for $ 95M by Sotheby's in 2006.
Months pass and Europe plunges deeper into war. On May 6, 2014, Christie's sold for $ 22.6M an oil on panel 100 x 80 cm painted on August 5, 1942.
This is unquestionably a new portrait of Dora, identifiable by her seat and her tricorn hat. Pablo deliberately deconstructed her face with a savagery generated by the accumulation of his anxieties.
For Marie-Thérèse and for the beginnings of Dora, the offset position of the eyes had been an impulse of the artist expressing his adoration through a Cubist research of the third dimension. The elephantine nose in profile of the new portrait cannot have a similar cause and also has a complex interpretation.
It is a semaphore warning of the dangers of war. It is also the long thin nose of Pablo's Afghan hound, his other favorite model at that time. If its shape generates a phallic interpretation, this war painting becomes the tragic echo of Le Rêve of Marie-Thérèse, that ultimate expression of happiness painted by Pablo on January 24, 1932.
3
August 1942 Nature Morte
2021 SOLD for $ 16.6M by Sotheby's
What to do in Paris when the city is under German occupation while your art is qualified as degenerate by the Nazi and is not allowed to be exhibited ? Picasso meditates about life and death, sharing much time in studio themes such as Dora posing in the armchair and tabletops of flowers and fruits.
Nature morte au panier de fruits et aux fleurs is a still life in an oblique Cubist composition reminding Juan Gris. The lines are violent and the dark colors are saturated. A dramatic confrontation opposes two characters, an established basket of figs or plums firmly posed on the table and a warring flower pot which tries to raise from the table side with its leaves folded like spider legs.
This oil on canvas 73 x 92 cm was sold for $ 16.6M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Sotheby's on October 23, 2021, lot 7. It had been painted in Paris on August 2, 1942, three days before the portrait of Dora which was sold for $ 22.6M by Christie's in 2014.
Painted in September 1943, Nature morte aux fruits et au compotier is a much quieter and more classical still life proudly dominated by a daisy. This oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm was sold for $ 8.3M by Sotheby's on October 23, 2021, lot 9.
Nature morte au panier de fruits et aux fleurs is a still life in an oblique Cubist composition reminding Juan Gris. The lines are violent and the dark colors are saturated. A dramatic confrontation opposes two characters, an established basket of figs or plums firmly posed on the table and a warring flower pot which tries to raise from the table side with its leaves folded like spider legs.
This oil on canvas 73 x 92 cm was sold for $ 16.6M from a lower estimate of $ 10M by Sotheby's on October 23, 2021, lot 7. It had been painted in Paris on August 2, 1942, three days before the portrait of Dora which was sold for $ 22.6M by Christie's in 2014.
Painted in September 1943, Nature morte aux fruits et au compotier is a much quieter and more classical still life proudly dominated by a daisy. This oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm was sold for $ 8.3M by Sotheby's on October 23, 2021, lot 9.
(1941)-1942 Boogie Woogie by Mondrian
2004 SOLD for $ 21M by Sotheby's
Fleeing the rise of fascism, Piet Mondrian left Paris for London in 1938 and moved to Manhattan in 1940. He was fascinated by the geometry of streets and skyscrapers and by jazz clubs. He had always loved popular dances, especially the charleston.
During this last period of his life, he worked on six new canvases, which he tirelessly modified in his search for the perfect rhythm and the balance of colors. Three of these works remained unfinished.
The first opus, in 1941, is titled New York. This oil on canvas 95 x 92 cm composed of black verticals and horizontals is not dynamic enough and does not interest anyone. The artist understands that the cause of this failure is the large empty square in the center of the canvas. He completes it in 1942 by adding three red lines as well as a few colored punctuations along the edges which are his first expression of the city's neon lights.
This transformation deserves a new title. The work becomes Boogie Woogie by reference to this style of jazz in which the pianist punctuates with one hand the main rhythm brought by the other hand. This New York Boogie Woogie was sold for $ 21M by Sotheby's on November 4, 2004, lot 7.
Mondrian's last two works, Broadway Boogie Woogie completed in 1943 and the unfinished Victory Boogie Woogie, energize his style by integrating small squares of color into his unlimited lines. His sudden death from pneumonia in February 1944 put an end to this short phase of intense musicality which paved the way for Action painting and Op art.
During this last period of his life, he worked on six new canvases, which he tirelessly modified in his search for the perfect rhythm and the balance of colors. Three of these works remained unfinished.
The first opus, in 1941, is titled New York. This oil on canvas 95 x 92 cm composed of black verticals and horizontals is not dynamic enough and does not interest anyone. The artist understands that the cause of this failure is the large empty square in the center of the canvas. He completes it in 1942 by adding three red lines as well as a few colored punctuations along the edges which are his first expression of the city's neon lights.
This transformation deserves a new title. The work becomes Boogie Woogie by reference to this style of jazz in which the pianist punctuates with one hand the main rhythm brought by the other hand. This New York Boogie Woogie was sold for $ 21M by Sotheby's on November 4, 2004, lot 7.
Mondrian's last two works, Broadway Boogie Woogie completed in 1943 and the unfinished Victory Boogie Woogie, energize his style by integrating small squares of color into his unlimited lines. His sudden death from pneumonia in February 1944 put an end to this short phase of intense musicality which paved the way for Action painting and Op art.
MATISSE
1
January 1942 Odalisque au Fauteuil Noir
2015 SOLD for £ 15.8M by Sotheby's
Matisse's orientalist approach was the excuse for lush compositions where the balance of colors dominated over the detailed line. However, he was working with European and Slavic models.
Matisse certainly appreciated this gap in his art. In the summer of 1940, seeing by chance a young Turkish woman, he is seduced by the regularity of her oriental face. Nézy is 21 years old. Great-granddaughter of Sultan Abdul Hamid, she lives in exile in Nice with her grandmother who accepts that she sits for the artist.
Matisse became seriously ill. Emerging from a long hospitalization in May 1941, he returned to his workshop at the Hôtel Régina. Considering his healing as an unexpected luck, he goes back to an intense work, realizing many drawings of his two muses of that time, Lydia and Nézy.
Painted in January 1942, the Odalisque au fauteuil noir is a portrait of Nézy. This oil on canvas 38 x 46 cm is the culmination of the oriental theme by Matisse. The realistic depiction is limited to the face and arm along with a vase of flowers on a small table. Clothing and decor are a symphony of colors that anticipates the researches of the abstract expressionism.
The Odalisque was sold for £ 6.6M by Christie's on 22 June 2004 and for £ 15.8M by Sotheby's on February 3, 2015, lot 7.
Matisse certainly appreciated this gap in his art. In the summer of 1940, seeing by chance a young Turkish woman, he is seduced by the regularity of her oriental face. Nézy is 21 years old. Great-granddaughter of Sultan Abdul Hamid, she lives in exile in Nice with her grandmother who accepts that she sits for the artist.
Matisse became seriously ill. Emerging from a long hospitalization in May 1941, he returned to his workshop at the Hôtel Régina. Considering his healing as an unexpected luck, he goes back to an intense work, realizing many drawings of his two muses of that time, Lydia and Nézy.
Painted in January 1942, the Odalisque au fauteuil noir is a portrait of Nézy. This oil on canvas 38 x 46 cm is the culmination of the oriental theme by Matisse. The realistic depiction is limited to the face and arm along with a vase of flowers on a small table. Clothing and decor are a symphony of colors that anticipates the researches of the abstract expressionism.
The Odalisque was sold for £ 6.6M by Christie's on 22 June 2004 and for £ 15.8M by Sotheby's on February 3, 2015, lot 7.
2
August 1942 Danseuse dans le Fauteuil, Sol en Damier
2007 SOLD for $ 21.7M by Sotheby's
During the summer 1942, Henri Matisse supersedes in his quest of new color compositions the excuse of the odalisques by the geometric pattern of the floor, in saturated blocks.
The sitter for that series is Countess Carla, a friend of the odalisque Nézy. She is displayed in confidence in a blue dancer's attire, languorously reclining on an armchair, a flower in the hair.
Danseuse dans le fauteuil, sol en damier, oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm painted between August 16 and 20, 1942 in the Nice studio, was sold by Sotheby's for $ 21.7M on June 19, 2007, lot 15 and for $ 21M on November 2, 2010, lot 24. The woman is seated in a bold diagonal of the composition.
The next opus featuring Countess Carla, Danseuse dans un intérieur, carrelage vert et noir, is an oil on canvas 50 x 61 cm painted in August 21 and 22, 1942. It was sold for £ 6.5M by Sotheby's on July 28, 2020, lot 31. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. In a complement to the contrast between the woman in blue and the floor, bursting colors are brought by a vase of flowers in the foreground and by the fabric of a rococo armchair.
Against the war and the severe degradation of his health that confined him at home in Nice, Matisse managed to express hope and joy through the purity of line and balanced colors.
Jeune fille en robe rose, oil on canvas 55 x 46 cm painted in October 1942, is the bust portrait of a young blonde woman in a straight and confident attitude with an underlining of the contours. The sitter is Monette whom he knew since July from his former model Nézy. Parting away from orientalism, the lozenge background pattern in black on white is inspired from Kuba textiles of Congo.
It was acquired in 1998 by the fashion maker Sydell Miller who hung it at a significant place in her home, certainly finding a sharp resemblance to herself including the radiant attitude and the pointed chin. It was sold for $ 9.7M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2024, lot 4 in the sale of the Sydell Miller collection. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house.
The sitter for that series is Countess Carla, a friend of the odalisque Nézy. She is displayed in confidence in a blue dancer's attire, languorously reclining on an armchair, a flower in the hair.
Danseuse dans le fauteuil, sol en damier, oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm painted between August 16 and 20, 1942 in the Nice studio, was sold by Sotheby's for $ 21.7M on June 19, 2007, lot 15 and for $ 21M on November 2, 2010, lot 24. The woman is seated in a bold diagonal of the composition.
The next opus featuring Countess Carla, Danseuse dans un intérieur, carrelage vert et noir, is an oil on canvas 50 x 61 cm painted in August 21 and 22, 1942. It was sold for £ 6.5M by Sotheby's on July 28, 2020, lot 31. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. In a complement to the contrast between the woman in blue and the floor, bursting colors are brought by a vase of flowers in the foreground and by the fabric of a rococo armchair.
Against the war and the severe degradation of his health that confined him at home in Nice, Matisse managed to express hope and joy through the purity of line and balanced colors.
Jeune fille en robe rose, oil on canvas 55 x 46 cm painted in October 1942, is the bust portrait of a young blonde woman in a straight and confident attitude with an underlining of the contours. The sitter is Monette whom he knew since July from his former model Nézy. Parting away from orientalism, the lozenge background pattern in black on white is inspired from Kuba textiles of Congo.
It was acquired in 1998 by the fashion maker Sydell Miller who hung it at a significant place in her home, certainly finding a sharp resemblance to herself including the radiant attitude and the pointed chin. It was sold for $ 9.7M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2024, lot 4 in the sale of the Sydell Miller collection. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house.
1942 FU BAOSHI
1
Shi Tao Cottage
2020 SOLD for RMB 138M by China Guardian
Before being one of the most eclectic Chinese artists, Fu Baoshi had been an art historian, specializing in the evolution of styles. He found an inspiration in a landscape painter from the early Qing period named Shi Tao. "Baoshi" means "one who integrates Shi".
Shi Tao's theories establish the link, which will also interest Lacan, between the elementary brushstroke and the universality that the global work can achieve. Shi was influenced by the great innovator Bada Shanren (Zhu Da), with whom he corresponded regularly. Shi works in lines and washes and dilutes his ink to obtain contrasts.
Shi Tao was not looking for fame. He ends his life in a humble cottage near Yangzhou. Very distant geographically from Zhu, they could not meet one another. When Shi asks Zhu to illustrate his new home, it can only be through the imagination.
Much to the delight of his friend Xu Beihong, Fu goes into practice in 1942. He imagines the work that Zhu could have done for Shi. The foreground is occupied by two large trees, in an impressionist blur made up of several densities of wash. Further on, the drawing of the thatched cottage is sharp. Shi is standing in the hallway looking upward to take in the vastness of nature.
This 58 cm wide work on paper is made up of two elements : below, the ink and colors by Fu is 84 cm high ; above, a two-part calligraphy by Xu is 23 cm high. It was sold for RMB 138M by China Guardian on December 1, 2020, lot 185. The image is included by China Daily in their list of the top 2020 Chinese art at auction.
Shi Tao's theories establish the link, which will also interest Lacan, between the elementary brushstroke and the universality that the global work can achieve. Shi was influenced by the great innovator Bada Shanren (Zhu Da), with whom he corresponded regularly. Shi works in lines and washes and dilutes his ink to obtain contrasts.
Shi Tao was not looking for fame. He ends his life in a humble cottage near Yangzhou. Very distant geographically from Zhu, they could not meet one another. When Shi asks Zhu to illustrate his new home, it can only be through the imagination.
Much to the delight of his friend Xu Beihong, Fu goes into practice in 1942. He imagines the work that Zhu could have done for Shi. The foreground is occupied by two large trees, in an impressionist blur made up of several densities of wash. Further on, the drawing of the thatched cottage is sharp. Shi is standing in the hallway looking upward to take in the vastness of nature.
This 58 cm wide work on paper is made up of two elements : below, the ink and colors by Fu is 84 cm high ; above, a two-part calligraphy by Xu is 23 cm high. It was sold for RMB 138M by China Guardian on December 1, 2020, lot 185. The image is included by China Daily in their list of the top 2020 Chinese art at auction.
2
Yuntai Mountain
2023 SOLD for RMB 92M by China Guardian
For a panoramic view of Yuntai mountain in Henan, Fu Baoshi selects in 1942 the classical format of the handscroll. This ink on paper is made of a 28.4 x 164 cm painting of the mountain chain without foreground plus a 33 x 240 cm calligraphed post script.
It was sold for RMB 92M by China Guardian on June 12, 2023, lot 732.
It was sold for RMB 92M by China Guardian on June 12, 2023, lot 732.
1942 Leaves of a Plant by O'Keeffe
2025 SOLD for $ 13M by Sotheby's
The highly independent Georgia O'Keeffe was reluctant to work on order. In 1939 she nevertheless accepted a commission from a New York advertising firm to make images for the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. She expected discovering the lush aspects of tropical flora.
She made a nine week stay in Hawaii in February and March and was not disappointed. She created 22 paintings either in the islands or at home from memory and sketches. Crab's Claw Ginger, featuring a variant of ginger also named heliconia, was one of two images accepted by the customer for the print campaign including ads in Vogue, The Saturday Evening Post and other magazines.
This oil on canvas 48 x 41 cm was sold for $ 7.7M by Phillips on November 17, 2021, lot 9. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The spectacular red flower with a large green leaf is set against an open landscape made of the clouded blue sky, the deep blue ocean and an abstract shore, in opposition of the usual practice of the artist for close surroundings.
Painted in 1942, Leaves of a plant is the only example in period of the artist revisiting the Hawaiian flora from her home on New Mexico. This oil on canvas 102 x 76 cm was sold for $ 13M from a lower estimate of $ 8M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2025, lot 42. Vibrant red and green leaves surround a soft purple blossom against a white space. The spectacular plant known as fire ball is evoking a volcanic eruption.
She made a nine week stay in Hawaii in February and March and was not disappointed. She created 22 paintings either in the islands or at home from memory and sketches. Crab's Claw Ginger, featuring a variant of ginger also named heliconia, was one of two images accepted by the customer for the print campaign including ads in Vogue, The Saturday Evening Post and other magazines.
This oil on canvas 48 x 41 cm was sold for $ 7.7M by Phillips on November 17, 2021, lot 9. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The spectacular red flower with a large green leaf is set against an open landscape made of the clouded blue sky, the deep blue ocean and an abstract shore, in opposition of the usual practice of the artist for close surroundings.
Painted in 1942, Leaves of a plant is the only example in period of the artist revisiting the Hawaiian flora from her home on New Mexico. This oil on canvas 102 x 76 cm was sold for $ 13M from a lower estimate of $ 8M by Sotheby's on May 13, 2025, lot 42. Vibrant red and green leaves surround a soft purple blossom against a white space. The spectacular plant known as fire ball is evoking a volcanic eruption.
1942 Flowers and Insects by Qi Baishi
2009 SOLD for RMB 95M by Poly
An album of flowers and insects made in 1942 by Qi Baishi has been titled Unfortunately Silent by a connoisseur in an allusion to the fair rendering of flapping insects.
It is made of 12 pages in color on paper 29 x 23 cm plus a title page. Each painting is commented in calligraphy. It features common butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers attracted by lotus leaves and blooming flowers. The style is altogether vivid and candid.
This album was sold for RMB 95M by Poly on November 22, 2009, lot 997.
It is made of 12 pages in color on paper 29 x 23 cm plus a title page. Each painting is commented in calligraphy. It features common butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers attracted by lotus leaves and blooming flowers. The style is altogether vivid and candid.
This album was sold for RMB 95M by Poly on November 22, 2009, lot 997.
