Edvard Munch

Lithograph printed in red and black, 1896, second (final) state, signed in pencil and numbered 16, from the edition of 100 for Album des Peintres Gravuers, published by Ambrose Vollard, on wove paper, printed by Clot, trimmed to the image at left and right, in good condition apart from a short repaired tear at top, the paper tone slightly darkened (stronger on the verso)

The print is in good condition as catalogued. The sheet is trimmed at left (possibly at right) with associated short creases at shallow losses at left. There is a short 1 inch repaired tear at top, not extending into the image and a small backed loss at the lower sheet edge. The paper tone is discolored, darkest at the sheet edges and on the verso which has additional damp stain.
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.

PROVENANCE
Acquired in 1901 by James Gibbons Huneker
By descent to Josephine Huneker
Alfred Rice, Esq
By descent to Pearl Rice

  In an 1894 letter to a friend, Edvard Munch indicated that he had "taken up printmaking" and hoped to publish a small collection of prints. His motivation was partly commercial; as a young struggling artist, he was hungry for both income and exposure beyond his native Norway and the European art scene.  The 1895 publication of his lithograph The Scream in La Revue Blanche was a small step in accomplishing the latter, and the work caught the eye of the American Vance Thompson, the editor of M'lle New York, who subsequently devoted an article to Munch, calling his work "spermatazoidal and spiritual." Thompson's enthusiasm was soon shared by James Huneker, a close friend, fellow editor, and music, literature and art critic who became captivated by the artist's haunting imagery.  In 1901, Huneker traveled to Munich for the International Art Exhibition and the ensuing article he wrote became the first exhibition review of Munch to be published in America.   While Huneker had begun his career as a music and literary critic, he was soon immersed in Europe's bohemian scene and would become one of the first to publish reviews of Gauguin, Ibsen, Van Gogh, and Nietzche, among others.  As one observer noted, he became "the American Columbus who discovered Europe for us."
  It was during this 1901 visit to Germany that Huneker visited the J. Littauer Gallery and purchased his first work by Munch, a lithograph in black and red he called Les Curieuses, which is titled Angst and is the print offered here.  In his earliest writings, Huneker described Munch to his American readers as a true madman, and while he tempered that description later to suggest he was more accurately psychological, he never deviated too drastically from this romantic depiction of an almost dangerous figure. At one point he promised his readers that he would reproduce the Angst, with the caveat, "You must promise to sit still and not scream any more than you can help, for scream you must."
  Compositionally, this subject matter of figures in a funereal procession set against a psychologically turbulent landscape epitomizes Munch's inimitable ability to confront the viewer with an intense human mortality.  As Huneker himself noted, "his deathroom scenes are unapproachable in seizing the fleeting atmosphere of the last hour; the fear of death, the very fear of fear."  First explored as a drawing in 1889 and a painting in 1895, Angst is considered a synthesis of Munch's most famous work, The Scream of 1894, and an earlier painting titled Evening on Karl Johans Gate of 1892.  Notably, in executing the lithograph in 1896, the artist dropped the horizon to its lowest point, thus drawing the viewer into the foreground to an even greater extent and intensifying our interaction with the wide eyes of the foremost figures.   Ambroise Vollard's inclusion of the print in his publication L'Album des Peintres-Gravures was an honor for Munch and in conjunction with Huneker's coverage in America augmented the artist's presence on the international stage.